destroy

[ dih-stroi ]

verb (used with object)

1. to reduce (an object) to useless fragments, a useless form, or remains, as by rending, burning, or dissolving; injure beyond repair or renewal; demolish; ruin; annihilate.

   Synonyms: devastate, ravage, waste, level, smash

   Antonyms: create

2. to put an end to; extinguish.

   Synonyms: uproot, annihilate, extirpate

   Antonyms: create

3. to kill; slay.
4. to render ineffective or useless; nullify; neutralize; invalidate.
5. to defeat completely.

verb (used without object)

1. to engage in destruction.

destroy

/ dɪˈstrɔɪ /

verb

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

Derived Forms

• deˈstroyable, adjective

Other Words From

• de·stroya·ble adjective
• half-de·stroyed adjective
• prede·stroy verb (used with object)
• self-de·stroyed adjective
• self-de·stroying adjective
• unde·stroyed adjective
• well-de·stroyed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of destroy¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English destroyen, from Old French destruire, from Vulgar Latin dēstrūgere (unattested), for Latin dēstruere ( dē- de- + struere “to pick up, build”)

Word History and Origins

Origin of destroy¹

C13: from Old French destruire, from Latin dēstruere to pull down, from de- + struere to pile up, build

Synonym Study

Destroy, demolish, raze imply reducing a thing to uselessness. To destroy is to reduce something to nothingness or to take away its powers and functions so that restoration is impossible: Fire destroys a building. Disease destroys tissues. To demolish is to destroy something organized or structured: to demolish a machine. To raze is to level down to the ground: to raze a fortress.

Example Sentences

He also survived the 2018 Camp fire that killed 85 people and all but destroyed Paradise.

From Los Angeles Times

There may soon be a gentler—and cheaper—way to destroy persistent and dangerous “forever chemicals.”

From Science Magazine

Another Islamist militant leader who destroyed ancient shrines in Timbuktu was sentenced to nine years in jail in 2016.

From BBC

Under Israeli law, the police had done nothing wrong — the villages they destroyed were among 35 Bedouin communities "unrecognized" by the government, ostensibly because they were built without official authorization.

From Salon

The Israeli military has destroyed large parts of Hezbollah’s infrastructure and killed many of its leaders, but the group continues to carry out daily attacks, although not with the same intensity.

From BBC

Related Words

• consume
• crush
• damage
• dismantle
• end
• eradicate
• gut
• impair
• kill
• maim
• ravage
• raze
• ruin
• sabotage
• shatter
• smash
• smash-up
• wipe out
• wreck