INDEX:
1. to destroy an area or place
2. to deliberately destroy a building
3. to completely destroy a vehicle
4. to destroy someone’s relationships, hopes, happiness etc
5. likely to destroy something
6. when something is destroyed
7. a place or thing that is destroyed
RELATED WORDS
to gradually be destroyed by a natural process : ↑ DECAY
see also
↑ DAMAGE
↑ EXPLODE
↑ SPOIL
↑ DISASTER
↑ BREAK
↑ BROKEN/NOT BROKEN
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1. to destroy an area or place
▷ destroy /dɪˈstrɔɪ/ [transitive verb]
to damage something so badly that it cannot be repaired :
▪ The earthquake destroyed much of the city.
▪ In Brazil the rainforests are gradually being destroyed.
▪ The factory was almost completely destroyed by fire.
▷ devastate /ˈdevəsteɪt/ [transitive verb]
to cause so much damage over a large area that most of the buildings, trees, and crops there are destroyed :
▪ A huge explosion devastated the downtown area last night.
▪ The country has been devastated by floods.
▪ Years of war have devastated this island nation.
▷ wreck /rek/ [transitive verb]
to deliberately damage a building or room very badly :
▪ He came home drunk again, threatening to wreck the apartment.
▪ Bulldozers were brought in to wreck the tents and shacks that protesters had put up.
▷ be flattened /biː ˈflætnd/ [verb phrase]
if an area such as a town or forest is flattened all the buildings or trees there are destroyed by bombs, storms etc :
▪ It will cost $400 million to rebuild the houses that were flattened in the fighting.
be flattened by
▪ Thousands of miles of woodland were flattened by storms last month.
▷ obliterate /əˈblɪtəreɪt/ [transitive verb]
to destroy a place so completely that nothing remains, and it is difficult to see or imagine what was once there :
▪ Entire sections of the city were obliterated by the repeated bombing.
▪ Frequent flooding eventually obliterated all traces of the community that used to live there.
▷ be ravaged by /biː ˈrævɪdʒd baɪ/ [verb phrase]
if a place or an area is ravaged by war, fire etc, it is very badly damaged and a lot of it is destroyed - used especially in newspapers and news reports :
▪ The country has been ravaged by civil war for the last 10 years.
▪ North Africa and the Middle East are regularly ravaged by plagues of locusts.
▷ reduce something to rubble/ashes etc /rɪˌdjuːs something tə ˈrʌb ə lǁrɪˌduːs-/ [verb phrase]
to completely destroy a building :
▪ Their new two-storey house had been reduced to ashes in the fire.
▪ We won’t stand by while developers reduce the historic remains of the city to rubble.
▷ trash /træʃ/ [transitive verb] informal
to deliberately destroy a lot of the things in a room, house, etc :
▪ Someone had broken in and trashed her apartment.
▪ Band members have been accused of trashing their hotel rooms.
2. to deliberately destroy a building
▷ demolish /dɪˈmɒlɪʃǁdɪˈmɑː-/ [transitive verb]
to destroy a building using special equipment, because it is old or not safe :
▪ Eventually, in 1997, the apartment block was demolished.
▪ When they demolished the church, a cave was discovered beneath it.
▷ knock down also pull down British /ˌnɒk ˈdaʊnǁˌnɑːk-, ˌpʊl ˈdaʊn/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to deliberately destroy a building or wall because it is not now needed, not safe etc :
knock/pull down something
▪ If you knocked down this wall, the living room would be a lot bigger.
▪ She was brought up in a tatty little house that has since been pulled down.
knock/pull something down
▪ They’ll have to knock down these houses when they build the new road.
▷ tear down /ˌteəʳ ˈdaʊn/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to deliberately destroy a building or other structure, especially in order to put something else in its place - use this especially when you do not approve of this action :
tear down something
▪ We need laws to keep people from tearing down these beautiful old buildings.
tear something down
▪ I’ll be really upset if they tear the old theater down.
3. to completely destroy a vehicle
▷ wreck /rek/ [transitive verb]
to damage a car, boat etc very badly in an accident so that it cannot be used again :
▪ They had stolen a car and wrecked it on the freeway.
▪ Glen drove right into a tree and wrecked his car.
wrecked [adjective]
▪ Wrecked vehicles lay abandoned at the roadside.
▷ write off /ˌraɪt ˈɒf/ [transitive phrasal verb] British /total American /ˈtəʊtl/ [transitive verb]
to damage a vehicle, especially a car, so badly in an accident that it cannot be repaired or used again :
▪ I totaled my car in a blizzard once, and I won’t drive in the snow anymore.
write off something/write something off
▪ She wrote her mother’s car off the first time she drove it.
4. to destroy someone’s relationships, hopes, happiness etc
▷ destroy /dɪˈstrɔɪ/ [transitive verb]
to destroy someone’s relationships, hopes, happiness etc :
▪ Even close relationships can be destroyed by alcoholism.
▪ Few things destroy trust more than telling a friend’s secrets.
▪ Chandler worried that the scandal would destroy his chances for a respectable career.
▷ wreck /rek/ [transitive verb]
to completely destroy someone’s relationships, hopes, chances etc, especially by doing or saying something without thinking of the likely results :
▪ Ron’s affair wrecked our marriage.
▪ His confrontational speech has wrecked any chances of a peace settlement.
▷ break somebody’s spirit/resolve/will etc /ˌbreɪk somebodyˈs ˈspɪrə̇t/ [verb phrase]
to destroy someone’s determination although they have tried hard to keep it :
▪ Years in prison did not break Mr Mandela’s spirit.
▪ Her captors used violence and psychological torture to try to break her will.
▷ ruin /ˈruːɪn, ˈruːən/ [transitive verb]
to completely spoil or destroy someone’s chances, hopes, relationship etc :
▪ Phelps’s mistake has ruined her chances of winning the championship.
▪ Patty’s ex-boyfriend is ruining our relationship.
5. likely to destroy something
▷ destructive /dɪˈstrʌktɪv/ [adjective]
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.
▷ devastating /ˈdevəsteɪtɪŋ/ [adjective]
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.
6. when something is destroyed
▷ destruction /dɪˈstrʌkʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
when something is destroyed :
▪ The war caused widespread death and destruction.
destruction of
▪ The destruction of forests for timber, fuel, and charcoal increased during the 18th century.
▷ devastation /ˌdevəˈsteɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
the result of an area being completely and violently destroyed :
▪ Few buildings in the city had escaped devastation.
utter devastation
complete devastation
▪ The scene after the explosion was one of utter devastation.
▷ demolition /ˌdeməˈlɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
the deliberate destruction of a building, because it is in bad condition or in order to build a new one :
▪ The old factory will be knocked down by demolition experts.
demolition of
▪ Building the new freeway is going to mean the demolition of an entire housing complex.
▷ be/lie in ruins /biː, laɪ ɪn ˈruːə̇nz/ [verb phrase]
if a town or building is in ruins or lies in ruins, it has been completely destroyed :
▪ After the war entire neighborhoods lay in ruins.
leave something in ruins
▪ Four days and nights of continuous bombing had left the city in ruins.
7. a place or thing that is destroyed
▷ wreckage /ˈrekɪdʒ/ [uncountable noun]
the broken parts of a car, plane etc that has crashed :
▪ Wreckage from the plane was scattered over a large area.
▪ Investigators are looking through pieces of the wreckage for any clues about the crash.
▷ ruins /ˈruːɪnz, ˈruːənz/ [plural noun]
the parts of a building or town that remain after it has been destroyed :
▪ The tour will visit ancient monasteries and Roman ruins in Merida.
ruins of
▪ Gunfire still echoed through the ruins of the city.
▷ wreck /rek/ [countable noun]
a ship that has been sunk, or a car that has been very badly damaged in a crash :
▪ Divers went down to search the wreck.
▪ The car was a complete wreck, but the driver escaped with minor injuries.
▷ write-off /ˈraɪt ɒf/ [countable noun] British
a car that has been so badly damaged that it cannot be used again :
▪ The car was a complete write-off - I was lucky I wasn’t killed.