destruction
Americannoun
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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
Related Words
See ruin.
Other Word Forms
- nondestruction noun
- predestruction noun
- semidestruction noun
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; destroy ) + -iōn- -ion
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.
Its State Farm insurance policy, still in effect when the fire started, had a payout of up to $36 million for total destruction.
Discovery shareholders would “incur significant costs and potentially considerable value destruction,” the company says.
In the year after fire swept through Altadena, man and nature have camouflaged the destruction, to some extent.
From Los Angeles Times
The town’s moment in the spotlight was its destruction.
From Los Angeles Times
“On one hand, it can be a defining aspect of our band and our lives,” Griffin said of the fire and its destruction.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
