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:
The destruction produced one of the most powerful cosmic events ever recorded.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
But it will take time to assess the full extent of the destruction in the region, which is remote and mountainous.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
And they custom-fit Shawkat’s mellower Molly, who trots behind in Frankie’s wake of destruction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
In a letter to Pirro and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Raskin said Hearn was subsequently arrested and charged with a felony destruction of government property.
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026
She had never dreamed such destruction was possible!
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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
This means that the two destructions cannot be related to the same event,” Dr. Ben-Yosef said.
From New York Times ● Dec. 20, 2022
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
One of the most disgraceful destructions of property, recorded in history, is that which was accomplished in Mexico by the first Archbishop of New Spain, Juan de Zumarraga.
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.
