Synonyms

destroy

American

[dih-stroi] / dɪˈstrɔɪ /

verb (used with object)

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
to put an end to; extinguish.

Synonyms:

uproot, annihilate, extirpate

Antonyms:

create
to kill; slay.
to render ineffective or useless; nullify; neutralize; invalidate.
to defeat completely.

verb (used without object)

to engage in destruction.

destroy British

/ dɪˈstrɔɪ /

verb

to ruin; spoil; render useless
to tear down or demolish; break up; raze
to put an end to; do away with; extinguish
to kill or annihilate
to crush, subdue, or defeat
(intr) to be destructive or cause destruction

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

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.

Other Word Forms

destroyable adjective
half-destroyed adjective
predestroy verb (used with object)
self-destroyed adjective
self-destroying adjective
undestroyed adjective
well-destroyed adjective

Etymology

Origin of destroy

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”)

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.

As he was dying two years later, in 1898, he came to see the book as “obscene” and begged his publishers, “by all that is holy,” to destroy every copy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Here’s the part people don’t expect to hear: It didn’t destroy us.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

Scientists already knew that quasars can destroy this gas within their own galaxies, effectively shutting down local star formation.

From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026

There are many narratives going around, and the one I find most interesting or conflicting is from the tech bears who say that AI is so powerful, it’s going to destroy all of software.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

They were convinced that Germany’s submarine fleet could destroy Britain’s ability to wage war within a few months.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023