destruction

de·struc·tion

 (dĭ-strŭk′shən)

n.

1.

a. The act or process of destroying: The destruction of the house was completed in two days.

b. The condition of having been destroyed: Destruction from the tornado was extensive.

2. The cause or means of destroying: weapons that could prove to be the destruction of humankind.

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[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin dēstrūctiō, dēstrūctiōn-, from dēstrūctus, past participle of dēstruere, to destroy; see destroy.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

destruction

(dɪˈstrʌkʃən)

n

1. the act of destroying or state of being destroyed; demolition

2. a cause of ruin or means of destroying

[C14: from Latin dēstructiō a pulling down; see destroy]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

de•struc•tion

(dɪˈstrʌk ʃən)

n.

1. the act of destroying.

2. the condition of being destroyed.

3. a cause or means of destroying.

[1275–1325; < Latin dēstructiō, derivative (with -tiō -tion) of dēstruere to destroy]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

destruction

A type of adjustment for destroying a given target.

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

Destruction

 of wildcats: a group of wildcats. See also dout.

Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Destruction/Destructiveness

 

See Also: DISINTEGRATION

1. As killing as the canker to the rose —John Milton
2. (Bones) breaking like hearts —Bin Ramke
3. Break [a person’s spirit] like a biscuit —Beaumont and Fletcher
4. Break like a bursting heart —Percy Bysshe Shelley
5. Break like dead leaves —Richard Howard
6. Cracked like parchment —Sin Ai
7. Cracked like the ice in a frozen daiquiri —Anon
8. (Her projects of happiness … ) crackled in the wind like dead boughs —Gustave Flaubert
9. Crack like walnuts —Rita Mae Brown
10. Crack like wishbones —Diane Ackerman
11. Cracks … like a glass in which the contents turned to ice, and shiver it —Herman Melville
12. [Fender and hood of a car] crumpled like tinfoil —T. Coraghessan Boyle
13. Crushed like an empty beer can —Anon
14. Crushed … like rats in a slate fall —Davis Grubb

    In Grubb’s novel, The Barefoot Man, the simile refers to miners who lost their lives.

15. Crushed like rotten apples —William Shakespeare
16. Crushed me like a grape —Carla Lane, British television sitcom, “Solo,” broadcast, May 19, 1987
17. (And I’ll be) cut up like a pie —Irish ballad
18. Destructive as moths in a woolens closet —Anon
19. [Time’s malevolent effect on body] dragging him down like a bursting sack —Gerald Kersh
20. (The Communists are) eating us away like an old fruit —Janet Flanner
21. (Men) fade like leaves —Aristophanes
22. Flattened her pitiful attempt like a locomotive running on a single track full steam ahead —Cornell Woolrich
23. (Creditors ready to) gnaw him to bits … like maggots at work on a carcass —George Garrett
24. The grass (at Shea Stadium) looked as if it had been attacked by animals that had not grazed for ages —Alex Yannis, New York Times, September 18, 1986

    Yannis, in reporting on the Mets’ winning the National League Eastern Division title, used the simile to describe the fans’ destruction of the playing field.

25. If I do [give up] … I’ll be like a bullfighter gone horn-shy —Loren D. Estleman
26. Like a divorce … goes ripping through our lives —Book jacket copy describing effect of Sharon Sheehe Stark’s novel, A Wrestling Season.
27. Marked for annihilation like an orange scored for peeling —Yehuda Amichai
28. My heroes [Chicago Cubs] had wilted like slugs —George F. Will
29. Pollutes … like ratbite —William Alfred
30. Self-destructing like a third-rate situation comedy —Warren T. Brookes, on Republican party, Wall Street Journal, July 15, 1986
31. Shattered like a walnut shell —Charles Dickens

    In Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, the comparison refers to a broken wine cask.

32. Shatter them like so much glass —Robert Louis Stevenson
33. Shrivel up like some old straw broom —Joyce Carol Oates
34. Snap like dry chicken bones —David Michael
35. [Taut nerves] snap like guy wires in a tornado —Nardi Reeder Campion, New York Times r/raes/Op-Ed, January, 5, 1987
36. (Then the illusion) snapped like a nest of threads —F. Scott Fitzgerald
37. Snapped off [due to frailness] like celery —Lawrence Durrell
38. (Who can accept that spirit can be) snuffed as finally as a flame —Barbara Lazear Ascher, New York Times 77mes/Hers, October 30, 1986
39. They [free-spending wife and daughter] ate holes in me like Swiss cheese —Clifford Odets
40. Wear out their lives, like old clothes —John Cheever
41. Your destruction comes as a whirlwind —The Holy Bible /Proverbs

Similes Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1988 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	destruction - the termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired or no longer exists devastation ending, termination, conclusion - the act of ending something; "the termination of the agreement" disaster - an act that has disastrous consequences kill - the destruction of an enemy plane or ship or tank or missile; "the pilot reported two kills during the mission" laying waste, ruining, wrecking, ruination, ruin - destruction achieved by causing something to be wrecked or ruined demolishing, tearing down, leveling, razing - complete destruction of a building annihilation, obliteration - destruction by annihilating something decimation - destroying or killing a large part of the population (literally every tenth person as chosen by lot) self-destruction - the act of destroying yourself; "his insistence was pure self-destruction" neutralisation, neutralization - (euphemism) the removal of a threat by killing or destroying it (especially in a covert operation or military operation) sabotage - a deliberate act of destruction or disruption in which equipment is damaged extermination, liquidation - the act of exterminating holocaust - an act of mass destruction and loss of life (especially in war or by fire); "a nuclear holocaust" demolition - the act of demolishing spoliation - (law) the intentional destruction of a document or an alteration of it that destroys its value as evidence hooliganism, malicious mischief, vandalism - willful wanton and malicious destruction of the property of others
	2.	destruction - an event (or the result of an event) that completely destroys something demolition, wipeout conclusion, ending, finish - event whose occurrence ends something; "his death marked the ending of an era"; "when these final episodes are broadcast it will be the finish of the show" annihilation, disintegration - total destruction; "bomb tests resulted in the annihilation of the atoll" eradication, obliteration - the complete destruction of every trace of something ravage, depredation - (usually plural) a destructive action; "the ravages of time"; "the depredations of age and disease" razing, wrecking - the event of a structure being completely demolished and leveled ruination, ruin - an event that results in destruction wrack, rack - the destruction or collapse of something; "wrack and ruin"
	3.	destruction - a final state; "he came to a bad end"; "the so-called glorious experiment came to an inglorious end" end, death state - the way something is with respect to its main attributes; "the current state of knowledge"; "his state of health"; "in a weak financial state"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

destruction

noun

1. ruin, havoc, wreckage, crushing, wrecking, shattering, undoing, demolition, devastation, annihilation, ruination the extensive destruction caused by the rioters

2. massacre, overwhelming, slaughter, overthrow, extinction, end, downfall, liquidation, obliteration, extermination, annihilation, eradication Our objective was the destruction of the enemy forces.

3. slaughter, slaughtering, putting down, termination, extermination, putting to sleep the destruction of animals infected with foot-and-mouth disease

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

destruction

noun

1. The act of destroying or state of being destroyed:

bane, devastation, havoc, ruin, ruination, undoing, wrack, wreck, wreckage.

2. An act, instance, or consequence of breaking:

breakage, damage, impairment, wreckage.

3. Something that causes total loss or severe impairment, as of one's health, fortune, honor, or hopes:

bane, destroyer, downfall, ruin, ruination, undoing, wrecker.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

تدميرتَدْميرتَدْمِيردَمارقضاء

zničeníničenízkáza

ødelæggelseruinering

ZerstörungVernichtung

καταστροφήόλεθρος

destrucción

tuho

destructiondisparitionmortperteravage

uništenje

eyîilegging

distruzioneannientamentodevastazionedistruttivit...distruttivo

破壊絶滅滅亡

파괴

destruktyviaidestruktyvumasdestruktyvusgriaunamasisgriaunantis

iznīcināšanapostījumisagraušana

vernietigingverwoesting

destruksjonødeleggelseundergang

niszczeniezniszczenie

destruição

разрушениеуничтожениесокрушениегибель

uničenje

förstörelse

การทำลาย

imhamahvolmatahrip etmeyıkımyok etme

sự phá hủy

毁灭毁坏

destruction

[dɪsˈtrʌkʃən] N

1. (gen) → destrucción f (fig) [of reputation] → destrucción f; [of person] → ruina f, perdición f
to test a machine to destruction → someter una máquina a pruebas límite
see also scene A2

2. (= ruins, damage) → destrozos mpl

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

destruction

[dɪˈstrʌkʃ^ən] n

(= action) → destruction f

(= state) → anéantissement m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

destruction

n

(= destroying, of town, building, hope) → Zerstörung f; (of enemy, people, insects, documents) → Vernichtung f; (of reputation) → Ruinierung f, → Zerstörung f; (of character, soul) → Zerstörung f, → Zersetzung f

(= damage: caused by war, fire) → Verwüstung f, → Zerstörung f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

destruction

[dɪsˈtrʌkʃ/ən] n (gen) → distruzione f; (caused by war, fire) → danni mpl

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

destruction

(diˈstrakʃən) noun

1. the act or process of destroying or being destroyed. the destruction of the city. vernieling, verwoesting تَدْمير разрушаване destruição ničení, zkáza die Zerstörung ødelæggelse καταστροφήdestrucción hävitamine تخریب؛ انهدام tuhoutuminen destructionהרס तोड़-फोड़ uništavanje, razaranje (le)rombolás penghancuran eyðilegging distruzione 破壊 파괴 griovimas, naikinimas iznīcināšana; sagraušana kehancuran vernielingødeleggelse, tilintetgjørelsezniszczenie ويجاړتوب، ورانى، خرابى، تباهى destruição distrugere, nimicire уничтожение skaza uničevanje razaranje förstörande การทำลาย yok etme, tahrip etme 毀滅 руйнування, знищення انہدام sự tàn phá 毁灭

2. the state of being destroyed; ruin. a scene of destruction. verwoesting دَمار разрушение destruição zničení die Zerstörung ødelæggelse; ruinering καταστροφήdestrucción hävitustöö نابودی؛ تباهی tuho destructionחורבן विध्वंसात्मक, भंजक razorenost pusztulás kehancuran eyðilegging distruzione 破壊 멸망 griuvėsiai postījumi kemusnahan vernietigingundergang, ødeleggelse, destruksjonruina تباه destruição dărâmare разрушение zničenie uničenje destrukcija förstörelse ภาวะที่ถูกทำลาย yıkım, mahvolma 毀壞 розгром; спустошення تباہی کی حالت tình trạng bị phá hủy 毁坏

desˈtructive (-tiv) adjective

1. causing or able to cause destruction. Small children can be very destructive. vernielsugtig, destruktief مُدَمِّر разрушителен destrutivo pustošivý zerstörerisch ødelæggende καταστροφικόςdestructivo lõhkuv ویرانگر؛ خراب کننده tuhoisa destructeurהרסני विध्वंसकारी destruktivan, koji uništava romboló merusak skaðlegur, eyðileggjandi distruttivo 破壊的な 파괴적인 griaunamasis, griaunantis, naikinantis postošs; iznīcinošs menyebabkan kehancuran vernielzuchtigødeleggende, destruktivniszczycielski مخرب، ورانوونكى destrutivo distrugător; capabil să distrugă разрушительный pustošivý, ničivý uničevalen destruktivan destruktiv; เป็นอันตราย kırıp dökücü, tahrip edici 破壞性的 руйнівний, знищувальний تباہ کن tổn thất nghiêm trọng 破坏性的

2. (of criticism etc) pointing out faults etc without suggesting improvements. afbrekende kritiek هَدّام унищожителен destrutivo destruktivní destruktiv ødelæggende; destruktiv επικριτικός, μη εποικοδομητικός destructivo, corrosivo lammutav غیرسازنده؛ منفی joutava destructifהרסני यूंही आलोचना koji nije konstruktivan destruktív destruktif niðurdrepandi, niðurrifs- distruttivo 否定的な 부정적인 destruktyvus (par kritiku) iznīcinošs perubahan afbrekend destruktiv, nedbrytende destruktywny بى ګټى destrutivo distruc­tiv деструктивный deštruktívny razdiralen destruktivan nedgörande ซึ่งเป็นการทำลาย yıkıcı 破壞的 згубний, шкідливий تنقید میں صرف نقص نہ کہ اصلاح پر مائل không xây dựng 破坏的

deˈstructively adverb

verwoestend بِصورةٍ هَدّامه / مُدَمِّرَه пагубно destrutivamente destruktivně, zhoubně zerstörerisch, destruktiv ødelæggende; destruktivt καταστροφικά de manera destructiva hävitavalt بطور مخرب tuhoisasti de façon destructrice בְּצוּרָה הַרסָנִית विध्वंसकारी रूप से pogubno, razorno rombolóan secara destruktif eyðileggjandi in maniera distruttiva 破壊的に 파괴적으로 destruktyviai iznīcinoši dengan cara menghancurkan vernielzuchtig, afbrekend ødeleggende, nedbrytende destruktywnie د خرابی ور destrutivamente (în mod) distructiv разрушительно zhubne uničujoče destruktivno destruktivt เป็นไปในทางทำลาย yıkıcı bir şekilde 破壞性地 руйнівно تباہ کن طور پر phá hoại 破坏性地

deˈstructiveness noun

skadelikheid, vernielsug تَدْميرِيَّه، تَخْريب разрушителност nocividade ničivost die Zerstörungswut ødelæggelsesevne; destruktivitet καταστροφικότητα carácter destructivo hävitavus ویرانگری tuhoisuus effet/penchant destructeur הַרסָנוּת विनाशकता razorno djelovanje, destruktivnost romboló hatás keadaan merusak eyðileggjandi áhrif/hneigð l'essere distruttivo 破壊性 파괴적임 destruktyvumas, pražūtingumas iznīcināšana kehancuran vernielzucht, vernietigingskracht ødeleggelseslyst; ødeleggende virkning destruktywność, pęd niszczycielski خرابول nocividade caracter distructiv разрушительность ničivosť uničevalnost destruktivnost förstörelselusta, fördärvlighet การชอบทำลาย yıkıcılık 破壞性 руйнівність, руйнувальність خراب کاری tính chất phá hoại 破坏性

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

destruction

→ تَدْمِير zničení ødelæggelse Zerstörung καταστροφή destrucción tuho destruction uništenje distruzione 破壊 파괴 verwoesting ødeleggelse zniszczenie destruição разрушение förstörelse การทำลาย imha sự phá hủy 毁灭

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009