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.
to put an end to; extinguish.
to kill; slay.
to render ineffective or useless; nullify; neutralize; invalidate.
to defeat completely.
verb (used without object)
to engage in destruction.
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”)
SYNONYMS FOR destroy
1 smash, level, waste, ravage, devastate.
2 extirpate, annihilate, uproot.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR destroy ON THESAURUS.COM
ANTONYMS FOR destroy
1, 2 create.
SEE ANTONYMS FOR destroy ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for destroy
1. 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.
historical usage of destroy
See decimate.
OTHER WORDS FROM destroy
de·stroy·a·ble,adjectivehalf-de·stroyed,adjectivepre·de·stroy,verb (used with object)self-de·stroyed,adjective
Temperature and humidity can have a profound impact on grain storage, and the wrong environmental conditions can lead farmers to destroy significant portions of crop storage.
Crover’s robot swims in grain silos to monitor environmental conditions|Brian Heater|September 17, 2020|TechCrunch
“We need to look at the places that are most at risk for not just fires, but disastrous fires that destroy whole communities, and do the mitigation work that will save lives and reduce property destruction,” she says.
Suppressing fires has failed. Here’s what California needs to do instead.|James Temple|September 17, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Meanwhile, 15 fires have destroyed more than 681,000 acres in Washington.
West Coast wildfire smoke is visible from outer space|María Paula Rubiano A.|September 16, 2020|Popular Science
This means that data will be taken by a body, used in a specific way, for a specific purpose, and then deleted or destroyed or given back afterwards.
Podcast: COVID-19 is helping turn Brazil into a surveillance state|Anthony Green|September 16, 2020|MIT Technology Review
We shouldn’t confuse the power we currently wield to destroy Earth systems with the power it takes to build stable networks.
Dawn of the Heliocene - Issue 90: Something Green|Summer Praetorius|September 16, 2020|Nautilus
An F-35 was destroyed on takeoff earlier in the year when a design flaw in its Pratt & Whitney F135 engine sparked a fire.
New U.S. Stealth Jet Can’t Fire Its Gun Until 2019|Dave Majumdar|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Before preservationists could put a stop to it, he and other looters had raided and destroyed precious relics buried at the site.
Egypt Ain’t The Only Pyramid Show In Town|Nina Strochlic|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We already have results: we destroyed many vehicles, military convoys, seized many trophies.
Fierce Fighting in Grozny Raises Specter of ISIS Influence in Russia|Anna Nemtsova|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They had a freak-out moment and destroyed some source material.
Laura Poitras on Snowden's Unrevealed Secrets|Marlow Stern|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Heal STL was destroyed, as were several other shops and offices contained in the building that went up in smoke Monday night.
The Baptism of Michael Brown Sr. and Ferguson’s Baptism by Fire|Justin Glawe|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His fort was destroyed, his men were killed, his settlement was a failure.
The True Story of Christopher Columbus|Elbridge S. Brooks
He never came to my dressing-room, for that destroyed the illusion.
Fair Margaret|Francis Marion Crawford
The battery-jars were uncovered, giving an effect of mystery unveiled, a sort of shamelessness, of destroyed illusion.
The Confession|Mary Roberts Rinehart
The insidious revolt led by Buck had destroyed the solidarity of the team.
The Call of the Wild|Jack London
If he should fall into sin, he would be chastised for his sin, but not destroyed.
The Expositor's Bible: The Second Book of Samuel|W. G. Blaikie
British Dictionary definitions for destroy
destroy
/ (dɪˈstrɔɪ) /
verb(mainly tr)
to ruin; spoil; render useless
to tear down or demolish; break up; raze
to put an end to; do away with; extinguish
to kill or annihilate
to crush, subdue, or defeat
(intr)to be destructive or cause destruction
Derived forms of destroy
destroyable, adjective
Word Origin for destroy
C13: from Old French destruire, from Latin dēstruere to pull down, from de- + struere to pile up, build