destroying angel

American

noun

any of several deadly poisonous mushrooms of the genus Amanita, having a white cap and stem, white spores, and a conspicuous volva at the base of the stem.

destroying angel British

noun

a white slender very poisonous basidiomycetous toadstool, Amanita virosa, having a pronounced volva, frilled, shaggy stalk, and sickly smell

"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

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.

Norgren often accompanies Lightner on his gathering forays, steering him clear of Destroying Angel mushrooms and hemlocks and singling out oddities like an orange parasitic vine called dodder.

From New York Times • Oct. 18, 2010

Beware of selfish purpose, revenge, hate; these are the Destroying Angel, sure to return to you.

From Supreme Personality by Croft, Delmer Eugene

The sobriquet of "The Destroying Angel" disappeared from the newspaper scare-heads.

From The Destroying Angel by Vance, Louis Joseph

He was everywhere known as the Destroying Angel, but he seemed to have little disagreement with his toddy, and took his meals regularly.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 13, No. 78, April, 1864 by Various

It was as dead as the camp of the Assyrians after the passage of the Destroying Angel.

From Life's Little Ironies by Hardy, Thomas

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