destroy
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destroy
demolish; ruin; annihilate; kill, slay; defeat completely: They will destroy the entire village.
Not to be confused with:
decimate – to destroy a great number or proportion of: Cholera decimated the city’s population; to select by lot and kill every tenth person
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree
de·stroy
(dĭ-stroi′)v. de·stroyed, de·stroy·ing, de·stroys
v.tr.
1. To break apart the structure of, render physically unusable, or cause to cease to exist as a distinguishable physical entity: The fire destroyed the library. The tumor was destroyed with a laser.
2. To put an end to; eliminate: "In crowded populations, poverty destroys the possibility of cleanliness" (George Bernard Shaw).
3. To render useless or ruin: felt that an overemphasis on theory had destroyed the study of literature.
4. To put to death; kill: destroy a rabid dog.
5. To subdue or defeat completely; crush: The rebel forces were destroyed in battle.
6. To cause emotional trauma to; devastate: The divorce destroyed him.
v.intr.
To be destructive; cause destruction: "Too much money destroys as surely as too little" (John Simon).
[Middle English destroien, from Old French destruire, from Vulgar Latin *dēstrūgere, back-formation from Latin dēstrūctus, past participle of dēstruere, to destroy : dē-, de- + struere, to pile up; see ster- in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: destroy, raze, demolish, ruin, wreck
These verbs mean to cause the complete ruin or wreckage of something or someone. Destroy, raze, and demolish can all imply reduction to ruins or even complete obliteration: "I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness" (Allen Ginsberg)."raze what was left of the city from the surface of the earth" (John Lothrop Motley).
The prosecutor demolished the opposition's argument. Ruin usually implies irretrievable harm but not necessarily total destruction: "You will ruin no more lives as you ruined mine" (Arthur Conan Doyle).
To wreck is to ruin in or as if in a violent collision: "The Boers had just wrecked a British military train" (Arnold Bennett).
When wreck is used in referring to the ruination of a person or of his or her hopes or reputation, it implies irreparable shattering: "Coleridge, poet and philosopher wrecked in a mist of opium" (Matthew Arnold).
These verbs mean to cause the complete ruin or wreckage of something or someone. Destroy, raze, and demolish can all imply reduction to ruins or even complete obliteration: "I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness" (Allen Ginsberg)."raze what was left of the city from the surface of the earth" (John Lothrop Motley).
The prosecutor demolished the opposition's argument. Ruin usually implies irretrievable harm but not necessarily total destruction: "You will ruin no more lives as you ruined mine" (Arthur Conan Doyle).
To wreck is to ruin in or as if in a violent collision: "The Boers had just wrecked a British military train" (Arnold Bennett).
When wreck is used in referring to the ruination of a person or of his or her hopes or reputation, it implies irreparable shattering: "Coleridge, poet and philosopher wrecked in a mist of opium" (Matthew Arnold).
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
destroy
(dɪˈstrɔɪ)vb (mainly tr)
1. to ruin; spoil; render useless
2. to tear down or demolish; break up; raze
3. to put an end to; do away with; extinguish
4. to kill or annihilate
5. to crush, subdue, or defeat
6. (intr) to be destructive or cause destruction
[C13: from Old French destruire, from Latin dēstruere to pull down, from de- + struere to pile up, build]
deˈstroyable adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
de•stroy
(dɪˈstrɔɪ)v.t.
1. to reduce (a thing) to useless fragments or a useless form, as by smashing or burning; injure beyond repair; demolish.
2. to put an end to; extinguish.
3. to kill; slay.
4. to render ineffective or useless; neutralize; invalidate.
5. to defeat completely.
v.i. 6. to engage in destruction.
[1175–1225; Middle English < Old French destruire]
de•stroy′a•ble, adj.
syn: destroy, demolish, raze imply completely ruining or doing away with something. To destroy is to reduce something to nothingness or to take away its powers so that restoration is impossible: Disease destroys tissues. To demolish is to destroy something organized or structured by smashing it to bits or tearing it down: The evidence demolished the attorney's case. To raze is to level a building or other structure to the ground: to raze a fortress.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
destroy
– spoil – ruin1. 'destroy'
If you destroy something, you cause so much damage to it that it can no longer be used or it no longer exists.
Several apartment buildings were destroyed by the fire.
I destroyed the letter as soon as I had read it.
2. 'spoil' and 'ruin'
If someone or something prevents an experience from being enjoyable, don't say that they 'destroy' the experience. You say that they spoil it or ruin it.
The evening had been spoiled by their argument.
The weather had completely ruined their day.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
destroy
Past participle: destroyed
Gerund: destroying
| Imperative |
|---|
| destroy |
| destroy |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Verb | 1. | destroy - do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of; "The fire destroyed the house" kill - destroy a vitally essential quality of or in; "Eating artichokes kills the taste of all other foods" do away with, eliminate, get rid of, extinguish - terminate, end, or take out; "Let's eliminate the course on Akkadian hieroglyphics"; "Socialism extinguished these archaic customs"; "eliminate my debts" self-destroy, self-destruct - do away with oneself or itself; "The machine will self-destruct if you tamper with it" destruct - destroy (one's own missile or rocket); "The engineers had to destruct the rocket for safety reasons" end - put an end to; "The terrible news ended our hopes that he had survived" fracture - interrupt, break, or destroy; "fracture the balance of power" sweep away, wipe out - eliminate completely and without a trace; "The old values have been wiped out" interdict - destroy by firepower, such as an enemy's line of communication demolish, pulverise, pulverize - destroy completely; "the wrecking ball demolished the building"; "demolish your enemies"; "pulverize the rebellion before it gets out of hand" pull down, rase, raze, dismantle, tear down, level, take down - tear down so as to make flat with the ground; "The building was levelled" extirpate, root out, uproot, eradicate, exterminate - destroy completely, as if down to the roots; "the vestiges of political democracy were soon uprooted" "root out corruption" dilapidate - bring into a condition of decay or partial ruin by neglect or misuse demyelinate - destroy the myelin sheath of; "the disease demyelinated the nerve fibers" |
| 2. | destroy - destroy completely; damage irreparably; "You have ruined my car by pouring sugar in the tank!"; "The tears ruined her make-up" devastate, lay waste to, ravage, scourge, desolate, waste - cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly; "The enemy lay waste to the countryside after the invasion" break - find a flaw in; "break an alibi"; "break down a proof" do a job on - destroy completely or make ugly or useless; "The dog did a job on my pillow"; "The seamstress did a job on my wedding gown" subvert - destroy completely; "we must not let our civil liberties be subverted by the current crisis" get - overcome or destroy; "The ice storm got my hibiscus"; "the cat got the goldfish" devour - destroy completely; "Fire had devoured our home" despoil, plunder, violate, spoil - destroy and strip of its possession; "The soldiers raped the beautiful country" explode - destroy by exploding; "The enemy exploded the bridge" consume - destroy completely; "The fire consumed the building" shipwreck - destroy a ship; "The vessel was shipwrecked" wash out - wear or destroy by the force of water; "The hail storms had washed out the bridges" | |
| 3. | destroy - defeat soundly; "The home team demolished the visitors" smash - overthrow or destroy (something considered evil or harmful); "The police smashed the drug ring after they were tipped off" swallow - engulf and destroy; "The Nazis swallowed the Baltic countries" cut to ribbons - defeat totally; "We must cut the other team to ribbons!" defeat, get the better of, overcome - win a victory over; "You must overcome all difficulties"; "defeat your enemies"; "He overcame his shyness"; "He overcame his infirmity"; "Her anger got the better of her and she blew up" | |
| 4. | destroy - put (an animal) to death; "The customs agents destroyed the dog that was found to be rabid"; "the sick cat had to be put down" kill - cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly; "This man killed several people when he tried to rob a bank"; "The farmer killed a pig for the holidays" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
destroy
verb
1. ruin, smash, crush, waste, devastate, break down, wreck, shatter, gut, wipe out, dispatch, dismantle, demolish, trash (slang), total (slang), ravage, slay, eradicate, torpedo, extinguish, desolate, annihilate, put paid to, raze, blow to bits, extirpate, blow sky-high The building was completely destroyed.
2. devastate, overwhelm, overpower, floor (informal), take aback, chagrin, nonplus, discompose Such criticism would have destroyed a more sensitive person.
3. slaughter, kill, put down, exterminate, put to sleep The horse had to be destroyed.
4. annihilate, wipe out, obliterate, erase, eradicate, extinguish, liquidate, root out, exterminate, nullify, extirpate, wipe from the face of the earth They could destroy the enemy in days rather than weeks.
5. defeat, beat, master, tank (slang), crush, overwhelm, conquer, overthrow, lick (informal), undo, subdue, rout, overpower, quell, trounce, clobber (slang), stuff (slang), vanquish, subjugate, run rings around (informal), wipe the floor with (informal), make mincemeat of (informal), pip at the post, outplay, blow out of the water (slang) The team destroyed their opponents in a one-sided game.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
destroy
verb1. To cause the complete ruin or wreckage of:
bankrupt, break down, cross up, demolish, finish, ruin, shatter, sink, smash, spoil, torpedo, undo, wash up, wrack, wreck.
Slang: total.
Idiom: put the kibosh on.
2. To pull down or break up so that reconstruction is impossible:
Aerospace: destruct.
3. To cause the death of:
Idioms: put an end to, put to sleep.
4. To take the life of (a person or persons) unlawfully:
Informal: put away.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
TranslationsSelect a language:
Spanish / Español
destroy
[dɪsˈtrɔɪ] VT (gen) → destruir, destrozar; (= kill) → matar; [+ pet] → sacrificar; [+ vermin] → exterminar (fig) [+ relationship, hopes etc] → destrozar, acabar conthe factory was destroyed by a fire → la fábrica quedó destrozada or fue arrasada por un incendio
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
destroy
(diˈstroi) verb1. to put an end to or make useless; to ruin. Vandals destroyed the painting.destruir
deˈstroyer noun a type of small fast warship. naval destroyers.destructor
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
destroy
→ destruirMultilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
destroy
vt. destruir, aniquilar; arruinar.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
destroy
vt destruirEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.