destructivede‧struc‧tive /dɪˈstrʌktɪv/ ●○○ adjective 
the destructive power of modern weaponsdestructive to What is good for the individual can be destructive to the family.—destructively adverb—destructiveness noun [uncountable]
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Alcoholics often tend to have stormy and destructive relationships.
- Jealousy is a very destructive emotion.
- Residents were awed by the earthquake's destructive force.
- The destructive side-effects of pesticides are now well known.
- The border war has been wasteful and destructive.
- Cizek's method of criticism is constructive, never destructive.
- Clearly, people choose to act selfishly and in destructive ways despite the pain their actions will bring to others.
- It is impossibly complex, outrageously expensive, overly intrusive, economically destructive and manifestly unfair.
- It is the hiding that is destructive, not the pain.
- The potential for a destructive arms race is ever present.
- This is unfortunate, for such marriages are destructive to both partners.
- We ran up to the firing range one morning to try out our destructive techniques for real.
- Yet another effort to save the banks from the destructive effects of this river.
Longman Language Activatorlikely to destroy something
likely to destroy something or cause serious damage to it: · The border war has been wasteful and destructive.· The destructive side-effects of pesticides are now well known.· Alcoholics often tend to have stormy and destructive relationships.
causing very serious damage to all the buildings, trees, crops etc in an area, so that they are almost completely destroyed: · The palace was rebuilt in 1832 after a devastating fire.have a devastating effect: · The oil spill had a devastating effect on sea birds and other wildlife.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY the destructive power of modern weaponsCOLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
the destructive power of modern weapons· And this can be as destructive to enjoyment and adventure as inflated claims or solemn incantations.
· Although it is good to see the end of environmentally destructive quarrying, the landscaping seems a little excessive.· But more competitive does not necessarily mean more environmentally destructive farming.
· The effect, enhanced in buildings and enclosed spaces, can be up to 16 times more destructive than conventional high explosives.· They should be seen for what they are: symptoms of a larger and much more destructive phenomenon.· Surely there could not have been a more destructive fire than Calvary; but more was to come.· Nothing is more destructive to a partnership than for one partner to feel that he or she is being taken advantage of.· Slanging matches rarely achieve anything positive, and other anger responses can be even more destructive.· Could this be a prelude to a trade war even more destructive of world prosperity than a military war?· It was far worse, more insidious, more destructive.· Mr Brown said he really couldn't wish for a more destructive class.
· Arguably it was the last point that has proved most destructive of the international effort.· The most unfortunate, the most destructive, and oftentimes the most stubbornly-fought conflicts are those of an intra-provincial or civil character.· Sugar was one of the most destructive elements of the new diet.· But it was the Chickasaw, commanded by George H.. Perkins, that fired the most destructive shots.· The most destructive thing to do is to take complicated swing theory or swing movements on to the golf course.· This emphasizes also his primitive appeal to fire as the most destructive force.· Of all the reversals, though, the most destructive in the long run was the about-face of the Communist world.· It was the most destructive that had been fought during the war, considering the length of time the engagement lasted.
· It is also a potentially destructive one.· Competence addressed without concern for its potentially destructive possibilities is hardly preferable to a benign ineptitude.· The interior, too, contains elements which are potentially destructive.
· Club members oppose electoral slates as these proved so destructive of the Tribune Group and Campaign Group.· Why can't you do that, instead of being so ... so destructive.
· Like most of the true crabs they can be very destructive in the reef tank.· Kim was also very destructive of any property not her own.· Ballantyne's boys simply stare while one of Golding's boys is not appreciative and very destructive towards the tree.
NOUN· Teenagers often make inappropriate responses to conflicts such as aggression, withdrawing, sulking, tantrums or destructive behaviour.
· All that destructive force - and all of it directed towards her.· The Titans introduced into the world of man the disruptive and destructive force of strife and killing.· Conflicting views' Of course arable land in some places is going out of cultivation because of erosion and other destructive forces.· This emphasizes also his primitive appeal to fire as the most destructive force.· Fanning the flames of hatred on the street, on television or in the so-called intellectual press feeds destructive forces.· This avenging boar, the agent of the insulted goddess, is henceforth identified with the destructive forces that produce tragedy.· In addition they help conserve the existing soil structure by protecting the surface from the destructive force of winter rain.· Civil wars were not the only destructive forces in the Merovingian kingdoms.
· Conflicting views' Of course arable land in some places is going out of cultivation because of erosion and other destructive forces.· Fanning the flames of hatred on the street, on television or in the so-called intellectual press feeds destructive forces.· This avenging boar, the agent of the insulted goddess, is henceforth identified with the destructive forces that produce tragedy.· Civil wars were not the only destructive forces in the Merovingian kingdoms.
· If multiple warheads are deployed, the different blast waves reinforce each other, increasing their destructive power.· Their destructive power was enough to upset the whole economy of a strong and healthy country.· But, given the destructive power of modern weapons, they did not believe that civilization could be protected by war.· In later poems she is usually shown as treacherous and malicious, exerting a deadly and destructive power over men.· It was seen as having both healing and destructive power.· The neo-Confucians, by contrast, limited the scope of human destructive power to humanity itself.· Her destructive powers are even greater than Ewan's!
· And now, on with the considerably more destructive process of deleting applications from Windows.· The result is a gripping sense of guilt which locks victims into an even more destructive process of self-blaming.· The problem solver pushes into the unknown intermediate region, alternatively employing constructive and destructive processes.· This doesn't mean, I hasten to insist, that natural selection is a purely destructive process.
WORD FAMILYnoundestroyerdestructionadjectiveindestructibledestructiveverbdestroyadverbdestructively
causing damage to people or things: the destructive power of modern weaponsdestructive to What is good for the individual can be destructive to the family.—destructively adverb—destructiveness noun [uncountable]