destroy
Americanverb (used with object)
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to reduce (an object) to useless fragments, a useless form, or remains, as by rending, burning, or dissolving; injure beyond repair or renewal; demolish; ruin; annihilate.
- Antonyms:
- create
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to put an end to; extinguish.
- Synonyms:
- uproot, annihilate, extirpate
- Antonyms:
- create
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to kill; slay.
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to render ineffective or useless; nullify; neutralize; invalidate.
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to defeat completely.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to ruin; spoil; render useless
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to tear down or demolish; break up; raze
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to put an end to; do away with; extinguish
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to kill or annihilate
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to crush, subdue, or defeat
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(intr) to be destructive or cause destruction
Synonym Usage
Destroy, demolish, raze imply reducing a thing to uselessness. To destroy is to reduce something to nothingness or to take away its powers and functions so that restoration is impossible: Fire destroys a building. Disease destroys tissues. To demolish is to destroy something organized or structured: to demolish a machine. To raze is to level down to the ground: to raze a fortress.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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predestroyverb (used with object)
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destroyableadjective
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half-destroyedadjective
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self-destroyedadjective
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self-destroyingadjective
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undestroyedadjective
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well-destroyedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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destroysimple
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destroyssimple
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have destroyedperfect
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has destroyedperfect
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am destroyingprogressive
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are destroyingprogressive
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is destroyingprogressive
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have been destroyingperfect progressive
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has been destroyingperfect progressive
Past
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destroyedsimple
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had destroyedperfect
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was destroyingprogressive
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were destroyingprogressive
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had been destroyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of destroy
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English destroyen, from Old French destruire, from Vulgar Latin dēstrūgere (unattested), for Latin dēstruere ( dē- de- + struere “to pick up, build”)
Explanation
When your little brother breaks your carefully constructed Lego village into its tiny parts, he destroys it. To destroy is to completely demolish. To destroy is the opposite of to construct or to build. When you destroy something, you cause destruction, when you build something, you are involved in its construction. In war, soldiers are sometimes sent on missions to search and destroy. This means their job is to find a target and completely take it out. Destroy doesn't have to be physical though. If you get an F in your math class, that could destroy your dream of going to an Ivy League university and too much criticism can destroy your self-esteem.
Vocabulary lists containing destroy
Beowulf vocabulary
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"Frankenstein"
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Workshop 2, Part 1
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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:
"It'll destroy its credibility and make itself even more vulnerable to these unfair attacks from the United States."
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Its aim is to keep hornet numbers low and it is therefore asking people to report sightings so it can destroy primary nests.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
It isn’t clear whether U.S. munitions could penetrate deeply enough into the site to destroy the centrifuges if they are buried there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Worse, burned trees release the carbon they were storing, then destroy other plant life that could keep that carbon absorbed.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026
If I even got a look at him, it would destroy me.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
That’s because if the deal goes through it stands a good chance to fail — failure in this case meaning that the combined company destroys more shareholder value than it creates.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Destinus, which specializes in strike and air-defense systems, will lead the consortium and bear responsibility for the kill vehicle, the component that destroys ballistic missiles in space.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
But conservation groups said the change would open the way to industrial activity that destroys habitats and was at odds with the statute.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
Another type of immune cell, known as T cells, then seeks out and destroys cells carrying those proteins.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
The physiological effect of DDD is probably unique among insecticides, for it destroys part of the adrenal gland — the cells of the outer layer known as the adrenal cortex, which secretes the hormone cortin.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
At least 5,398 people were killed in the June 24 earthquakes, with hundreds of buildings destroyed, particularly in the hardest-hit state of La Guaira in the country's coastal north.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Certain ferns can spread quickly across damaged ground, especially where other vegetation has been destroyed.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
But even if the facility can’t be destroyed, it still would be worthwhile to set it back or block access to the site.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Infrastructure, community homes, and personal property were all destroyed, Chief Pauline Drake told CBC News on Sunday.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
What if it destroyed the “space-time continuum,” whatever that meant?
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the war succeeded in destroying Iran’s missile arsenal and production, sinking its navy, weakening its militia allies and ensuring it won’t possess a nuclear weapon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
In southern France, a fire in the area of Ponteves northeast of the city of Marseille had stabilised on Thursday after ripping through 2,500 hectares and destroying 10 houses, officials said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Yet many still doubt that the choices we make for convenience’s sake are destroying the planet.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
La Liga president Javier Tebas has called for Fifa president Gianni Infantino to step down, claiming the world governing body is "destroying the football industry".
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
He began destroying them in the quest to save their legacy.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
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.