destructive
Americanadjective
-
tending to destroy; causing destruction or much damage (often followed by of orto ).
a very destructive windstorm.
- Synonyms:
- deleterious, ruinous
- Antonyms:
- creative
-
tending to overthrow, disprove, or discredit (opposed to constructive).
destructive criticism.
- Synonyms:
- negative, adverse, unfavorable
- Antonyms:
- constructive
adjective
-
causing or tending to cause the destruction (of)
-
intended to disprove or discredit, esp without positive suggestions or help; negative Compare constructive
destructive criticism
Other Word Forms
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destructivenessnoun
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destructivitynoun
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interdestructivenessnoun
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nondestructivenessnoun
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overdestructivenessnoun
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undestructivenessnoun
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interdestructiveadjective
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nondestructiveadjective
-
overdestructiveadjective
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semidestructiveadjective
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undestructiveadjective
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destructivelyadverb
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interdestructivelyadverb
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nondestructivelyadverb
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overdestructivelyadverb
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undestructivelyadverb
Etymology
Origin of destructive
First recorded in 1480–90; from Middle French, from Late Latin dēstructīvus, from Latin dēstruct(us) “demolished, torn down” ( see destruction) + -īvus -ive
Explanation
If something causes a lot of damage, you can talk about its destructive force or power. Something is destructive when it really messes things up. The word destructive comes from the Latin destruere which means literally to unbuild. In addition to describing a storm or battle, the word can be used for the things people say as well as do. If your mother's comments about your weight cause you to eat more bon bons, you could say that her remarks were destructive to your diet.
Vocabulary lists containing destructive
Latin Love, Vol I: struere
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Ocean Storm Alert!
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stru, struct (make, build)
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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.
Gulf states are growing alarmed that they may face more destructive Iranian attacks than at the height of the war in March.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
Canada is enduring more frequent and destructive wildfires, increased flooding and more frequent episodes of extreme heat.
From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026
Disabling the channel prevented the destructive disease process observed when TRPC1 was present.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
Those early months of 2025 were undeniably terrifying and inordinately destructive, but they were also ridiculous.
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2026
It was hard to believe it could be so dangerous, and yet its destructive power was plain to see.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
