de·stroy (d -stroi )v. de·stroyed, de·stroy·ing, de·stroys v.tr. 1. To ruin completely; spoil: The ancient manuscripts were destroyed by fire. 2. To tear down or break up; demolish. See Synonyms at ruin. 3. To do away with; put an end to: "In crowded populations, poverty destroys the possibility of cleanliness" (George Bernard Shaw). 4. To kill: destroy a rabid dog. 5. To subdue or defeat completely; crush: The rebel forces were destroyed in battle. 6. To render useless or ineffective: destroyed the testimony of the prosecution's chief witness. v.intr. To be destructive; cause destruction: "Too much money destroys as surely as too little" (John Simon). [Middle English destroien, from Old French destruire, from Vulgar Latin *d  str gere, back-formation from Latin dstrctus, past participle of dstruere, to destroy : d-, de- + struere, to pile up; see ster-2 in Indo-European roots.] |
destroy [dɪˈstrɔɪ]
vb (mainly tr)
1. to ruin; spoil; render useless
2. to tear down or demolish; break up; raze
3. to put an end to; do away with; extinguish
4. to kill or annihilate
5. to crush, subdue, or defeat
6. (intr) to be destructive or cause destruction
[from Old French destruire, from Latin dēstruere to pull down, from de- + struere to pile up, build]
destroyable adj
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Verb | 1. | destroy - do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of; "The fire destroyed the house" kill - destroy a vitally essential quality of or in; "Eating artichokes kills the taste of all other foods" do away with, eliminate, get rid of, extinguish - terminate, end, or take out; "Let's eliminate the course on Akkadian hieroglyphics"; "Socialism extinguished these archaic customs"; "eliminate my debts" self-destroy, self-destruct - do away with oneself or itself; "The machine will self-destruct if you tamper with it" destruct - destroy (one's own missile or rocket); "The engineers had to destruct the rocket for safety reasons" end - put an end to; "The terrible news ended our hopes that he had survived" fracture - interrupt, break, or destroy; "fracture the balance of power" sweep away, wipe out - eliminate completely and without a trace; "The old values have been wiped out" interdict - destroy by firepower, such as an enemy's line of communication demolish, pulverise, pulverize - destroy completely; "the wrecking ball demolished the building"; "demolish your enemies"; "pulverize the rebellion before it gets out of hand" pull down, rase, raze, dismantle, tear down, level, take down - tear down so as to make flat with the ground; "The building was levelled" extirpate, root out, uproot, eradicate, exterminate - destroy completely, as if down to the roots; "the vestiges of political democracy were soon uprooted" "root out corruption" dilapidate - bring into a condition of decay or partial ruin by neglect or misuse demyelinate - destroy the myelin sheath of; "the disease demyelinated the nerve fibers" |
| 2. | destroy - destroy completely; damage irreparably; "You have ruined my car by pouring sugar in the tank!"; "The tears ruined her make-up" devastate, lay waste to, ravage, scourge, desolate, waste - cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly; "The enemy lay waste to the countryside after the invasion" break - find a flaw in; "break an alibi"; "break down a proof" do a job on - destroy completely or make ugly or useless; "The dog did a job on my pillow"; "The seamstress did a job on my wedding gown" subvert - destroy completely; "we must not let our civil liberties be subverted by the current crisis" get - overcome or destroy; "The ice storm got my hibiscus"; "the cat got the goldfish" devour - destroy completely; "Fire had devoured our home" despoil, rape, plunder, violate, spoil - destroy and strip of its possession; "The soldiers raped the beautiful country" explode - destroy by exploding; "The enemy exploded the bridge" consume - destroy completely; "The fire consumed the building" shipwreck - destroy a ship; "The vessel was shipwrecked" wash out - wear or destroy by the force of water; "The hail storms had washed out the bridges" | |
| 3. | destroy - defeat soundly; "The home team demolished the visitors" smash - overthrow or destroy (something considered evil or harmful); "The police smashed the drug ring after they were tipped off" swallow - engulf and destroy; "The Nazis swallowed the Baltic countries" cut to ribbons - defeat totally; "We must cut the other team to ribbons!" defeat, get the better of, overcome - win a victory over; "You must overcome all difficulties"; "defeat your enemies"; "He overcame his shyness"; "He overcame his infirmity"; "Her anger got the better of her and she blew up" | |
| 4. | destroy - put (an animal) to death; "The customs agents destroyed the dog that was found to be rabid"; "the sick cat had to be put down" kill - cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly; "This man killed several people when he tried to rob a bank"; "The farmer killed a pig for the holidays" |
destroy
verb
1. ruin, smash, crush, waste, devastate, break down, wreck, shatter, gut, wipe out, dispatch, dismantle, demolish, trash (slang), total (slang), ravage, slay, eradicate, torpedo, extinguish, desolate, annihilate, put paid to, raze, blow to bits, extirpate, blow sky-high The building was completely destroyed.
2. devastate, overwhelm, overpower, floor (informal), take aback, chagrin, nonplus, discompose Such criticism would have destroyed a more sensitive person.
3. slaughter, kill, put down, exterminate, put to sleep The horse had to be destroyed.
4. annihilate, wipe out, obliterate, erase, eradicate, extinguish, liquidate, root out, exterminate, nullify, extirpate, wipe from the face of the earth They could destroy the enemy in days rather than weeks.
5. defeat, beat, master, tank (slang), crush, overwhelm, conquer, overthrow, lick (informal), undo, subdue, rout, overpower, quell, trounce, clobber (slang), stuff (slang), vanquish, subjugate, run rings around (informal), wipe the floor with (informal), make mincemeat of (informal), pip at the post, outplay, blow out of the water (slang) The team destroyed their opponents in a one-sided game.
Translations
destroy [dɪsˈtrɔɪ] VT (gen) → destruir, destrozar; (= kill) → matar; [+ pet] → sacrificar; [+ vermin] → exterminar (fig) [+ relationship, hopes etc] → destrozar, acabar con
the factory was destroyed by a fire → la fábrica quedó destrozada or fue arrasada por un incendio
the factory was destroyed by a fire → la fábrica quedó destrozada or fue arrasada por un incendio
destroy [dɪˈstrɔɪ] vt
(= smash) [+ building, weapons] → détruire
(= put an end to) [+ faith, confidence] → détruire
[+ evidence] → détruire
(= put down) [+ animal] → abattre
destroy
vt
(lit: = wreck, ruin) → zerstören; box, toy, watch etc → kaputt machen; documents, trace → vernichten; to destroy oneself → sich zugrunde or zu Grunde richten; to be destroyed by fire → durch Brand vernichtet werden
(fig: = put an end to) → zerstören; influence, hopes, chances → zunichtemachen, vernichten; reputation, mood, beauty → ruinieren; morals → zersetzen; to destroy somebody → jdn zugrunde or zu Grunde richten
destroy [dɪsˈtrɔɪ] vt (gen) → distruggere; (kill, dangerous or diseased animal) → abbattere; (pet) → sopprimere; (vermin) → eliminare; (mood, appetite) → rovinare
destroy [dɪsˈtrɔɪ] vt (gen) → distruggere; (kill, dangerous or diseased animal) → abbattere; (pet) → sopprimere; (vermin) → eliminare; (mood, appetite) → rovinare
destroy [dɪsˈtrɔɪ] vt (gen) → distruggere; (kill, dangerous or diseased animal) → abbattere; (pet) → sopprimere; (vermin) → eliminare; (mood, appetite) → rovinare
v destroy [diˈstroi]
1 to put an end to or make useless; to ruin Vandals destroyed the painting. vernietig, verniel يُدَمِّر، يُخَرِّب، يُحَطِّم унищожавам zničit ødelægge; tilintetgøre zerstören καταστρέφω destruir hävitama خراب کردن؛ از بین بردن tuhota détruire לַהֲרוֹס नष्ट करना uništiti megsemmisít menghancurkan eyðileggja distruggere 破壊する 파괴하다 (su)naikinti, (su)griauti iznīcināt; sagraut; izpostīt musnahkan vernielen ødelegge, rive ned, tilintetgjøre niszczyć destruir a distruge разрушать zničiť uničiti uništiti förstöra ทำลาย parçalamak, mahvetmek, tahrip etmek 破壞, 毀壞 знищувати; руйнувати مسمار کرنا phá hủy 破坏, 毁坏
2 to kill (animals) This poison destroys rats. vernietig, doodmaak يَقْتُل изтребвам zabít aflive; gøre det af med vernichten σκοτώνω ζώα matar, abatir hävitama کشتن؛ هلاک کردن tappaa tuer לְהָמִית मार डालना ubiti, potamaniti (el)pusztít membunuh eyða, drepa uccidere 殺す 죽이다 naikinti iznīcināt binasakan doden drepe, avlive, destruere niszczyć exterminar a omorî уничтожать zabiť pokončati ubiti döda, avliva, ta död på ฆ่า öldürmek, itlâf etmek 消滅 винищувати جان سے مارنا giết 消灭
n deˈstroyer
a type of small fast warship naval destroyers. torpedojaer مُدَمِّر разрушител torpédoborec destroyer der Zerstörer αντιτορπιλικό destructor hävitaja ناوشکن؛ ویرانگر hävittäjä contre-torpilleur מַשחֶתֶת ध्वंसक razarač, uništavalac (torpedó)romboló kapal perusak tundurspillir cacciatorpediniere 駆逐艦 구축함 eskadrinis minininkas eskadras mīnu kuģis pemusnah torpedojager destroyer, torpedojager niszczyciel contratorpedeiro distrugător эсминец torpédoborec rušilec razarač jagare เรือพิฆาตเล็ก destroyer 驅逐艦 руйнівник; винищувач ایک چھوٹا تیز رفتار لڑاکو جہاز tàu khu trục 驱逐舰
destroy → يُدمِر zničit ødelægge zerstören καταστρέφω destruir tuhota détruire uništiti distruggere 破壊する 파괴하다 verwoesten ødelegge zniszczyć destruir уничтожать förstöra ทำลาย yok etmek phá hủy 破坏
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