sabotage
To damage or spoil something on purpose so it does not work.
sabotage in a sentence
- Someone tried to sabotage the school play by hiding all the costumes the night before.
- Someone let the air out of our go-kart tyres to sabotage our chances in the race.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to sabotage?
- Awreck
- Bmend
- Cfix
- Dhelp
Show the answer
A: wreck. The other three mean the opposite of sabotage.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to sabotage?
- Awreck
- Bfix
- Cruin
- Ddamage
Show the answer
B: fix. The other three mean nearly the same as sabotage.
Words that mean something similar
wreck, ruin, damage
Words that mean the opposite
fix, mend, help
More words about behaviour & manners
- sacrifice: To give up something you value, to help someone or to gain something more important.
- sanitary: Clean, and helping to protect people's health.
- shun: To avoid someone or something on purpose.
- sneer: To smile in a nasty way that shows you look down on someone; or that nasty smile.
- spontaneous: Done suddenly without planning it first.
- squander: To waste money or time in a careless way.
- submissive: Always willing to obey others without arguing.
- submit: To give in to someone, or to hand in work for someone to judge.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test