destruction
Americannoun
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destructions
plural
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the act of destroying.
wanton destruction of a town.
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the condition of being destroyed; demolition; annihilation.
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a cause or means of destroying.
noun
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the act of destroying or state of being destroyed; demolition
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a cause of ruin or means of destroying
Synonym Usage
See ruin.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of destruction
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English (from Anglo-French ), from Latin dēstructiōn- (stem of dēstructiō ), equivalent to dēstruct(us) (past participle of dēstruere; see destroy) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Destruction is damage so bad, things must be replaced, not fixed. Tornadoes often leave a trail of destruction, damaging neighborhoods and knocking down houses. The Latin word destructionem, "a pulling down," is the root of destruction. When destruction strikes, things do get pulled down — from houses in the case of natural disasters or a big display of canned soups in the case of a careless shopper. Sometimes, destruction refers to death, as when critics of war talk about the resulting destruction of human life.
Vocabulary lists containing destruction
Biodiversity and Humans - Middle School and High School
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Biodiversity and Humans - Introductory
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"Fire and Ice"
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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.
See Examples For:
Weeks later, Chief State Prosecutor Zejnulla Gashi announced an investigation into state-run power plants over suspected criminal "contamination, degradation and destruction of the environment".
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
"Ananya's work demonstrates that each of these peculiarities can be explained by the same underlying phenomenon: the tidal destruction of a binary system and the capture of one of the stars," Coughlin says.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
That was why, after a major fire, the pattern of destruction could look so starkly uneven - as in Stourbridge.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
CK Hutchison launched international arbitration against Panama, seeking over $1.5 billion in damages for the destruction of its port investments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
“But destruction of property . . .” I set my jaw hard and shook my head in denial.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
As Perry noted, pesticides are not alone in targeting sperm for destructions.
From Salon ● Nov. 16, 2023
Podolyak added that the barrage was “an undeniable manifestation” of Russia’s “terrorist activity, legally documented by numerous destructions and victims.”
From Washington Times ● Aug. 15, 2023
The story under that headline reported that Bankman-Fried’s entire fortune had been “wiped out” in “one of history’s greatest-ever destructions of wealth.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2022
“Unless something fundamental is done,” he added, “the utility will cause more death and home destructions in 2020.”
From New York Times ● Dec. 3, 2019
To me accordingly they have subjected everything; and they have removed—on account of the success of the chiefs of my enemies—the silver from the palaces, and all else, on account of his destructions.
From Egyptian Literature Comprising Egyptian tales, hymns, litanies, invocations, the Book of the Dead, and cuneiform writings by Epiphanius Wilson
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.
