destroying angel
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of destroying angel
First recorded in 1905–10
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.
The state continues to see an unprecedented uptick in poisonings and deaths associated with death cap, or Amanita phalloides; and western destroying angel, Amanita ocreata, mushrooms, according to the California Department of Public Health.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026
Death cap mushrooms have a dome-shaped cap that may have olive or yellowish tones, while the western destroying angel has a cream or ochre-colored cap.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 8, 2026
Three mushrooms known as the destroying angel, the deadly dapperling and the funeral bell all have something in common: the fabulously lethal toxin alpha-Amanitin.
From New York Times ● May 9, 2022
He defines the destroying angel as “an absence of will, of purpose,” and says, “The feeling that the door is open but we don’t go through it is with us all the time.”
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 15, 2016
It was like trying to stare down a destroying angel.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
