destructive
Americanadjective
-
tending to destroy; causing destruction or much damage (often followed by of orto ).
a very destructive windstorm.
- Synonyms:
- deleterious, ruinous
- Antonyms:
- creative
-
tending to overthrow, disprove, or discredit (constructive ).
destructive criticism.
- Synonyms:
- negative, adverse, unfavorable
- Antonyms:
- constructive
adjective
-
causing or tending to cause the destruction (of)
-
intended to disprove or discredit, esp without positive suggestions or help; negative Compare constructive
destructive criticism
Other Word Forms
- destructively adverb
- destructiveness noun
- destructivity noun
- interdestructive adjective
- interdestructively adverb
- interdestructiveness noun
- nondestructive adjective
- nondestructively adverb
- nondestructiveness noun
- overdestructive adjective
- overdestructively adverb
- overdestructiveness noun
- semidestructive adjective
- undestructive adjective
- undestructively adverb
- undestructiveness noun
Etymology
Origin of destructive
First recorded in 1480–90; from Middle French, from Late Latin dēstructīvus, from Latin dēstruct(us) “demolished, torn down” ( destruction ) + -īvus -ive
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the Himalayas, which span Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan and China, the impact of a lake burst can be particularly destructive.
Who’d protected him against mobs of furious animals and destructive children?
From Literature
“We have here social media that takes the vulnerable and goes after them in destructive ways. It’s as easy as A B C.”
In the 20th Century, Germany used its powerful armies to wage some of the most destructive wars in human history, laying waste to much of the continent and killing millions.
From BBC
The category four system was forecast to bring "destructive wind gusts and heavy rainfall" to some coastal areas, the bureau said.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
