də̇ˈstrȯi, dēˈ- verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English destroyen, destruyen, from Old French destruire, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin destrugere, alteration (influenced by Latin destructus, past participle of destruere ) of Latin destruere to tear down, destroy, from de- + struere to pile up, build; akin to Latin sternere to spread out, scatter — more at strew
transitive verb
1. : to ruin the structure, organic existence, or condition of: as
a. : to pull or tear down : raze , demolish
destroyed the altars of the gods
b. obsolete : to lay waste : desolate
c. : to ruin completely or injure or mutilate beyond possibility of use (as by tearing, breaking, burning, or erosion)
priceless art destroyed by fire
water may undermine and destroy the riverbank
d. : to ruin as if by ripping to shreds
destroyed a goodly number of existing reputations — H.J.Laski
e. : to deprive of position, prestige, and reputation and of the power to oppose or offer resistance : reduce to political, financial, or professional impotence or ruin : defeat and discredit fully
an author can weather the most damning criticisms but he is destroyed when he is ignored completely — Bennett Cerf
2. : to bring to naught by putting out of existence:
a. : to take the life of : put to death : kill
the plague destroyed men by the thousands
b. : to cause to vanish : abolish
destroy one's love
c. : counteract , nullify , neutralize
the moon destroys the light of the stars
d. : to subject to a crushing defeat : wipe out : annihilate
building a war machine capable of destroying the enemy
3. Irish : distress , depress , plague
and you destroyed with the grief has come on you — Mary Deasy
intransitive verb
1. : to have the effect of destroying something or someone
it is proverbially easier to destroy than to construct — T.S.Eliot
2. : to become destroyed
wear nothing that destroys easily
Synonyms:
demolish , raze , ruin , undo , wreck , wrack , dilapidate : destroy implies any force that smashes, tears down or apart, kills, or annihilates
destroy a house
destroy a document by burning it
destroy a friendship by deceit
destroy a bridge by blowing it up
destroy a mood
demolish implies more a pulling or smashing to pieces; in its frequent application to the smashing or tearing down of buildings or other structures it implies complete wreckage to the point of a heap of ruins
a building demolished by a bomb
a car demolished by a train at a railroad crossing
raze implies a leveling whether by sudden destruction or an orderly process
the governor formulated a plan to raze the old State prison and transfer the inmates to other institutions — Current Biography
in 1865 a Gulf hurricane razed the town — American Guide Series: Texas
the hotel was razed, and its colonial pillars were sent to Grand Rapids — American Guide Series: Michigan
ruin usually suggests a usually total bringing to an end of the wholeness, value, beauty, well-being, or opportunities of someone or something as by fire, collision, or misuse, or by the loss of something essential to happiness or success
ruin a car by neglect
beauty ruined by dissipation
big planters ruined by the failure of the Bank of Tallahassee — Marjory S. Douglas
it is he who decides how loud or soft the music will be at any given moment, and therefore it is he who can make or ruin everything by the merest touch of the dials — Aaron Copland
because of the destruction of the plantation system the Civil War ruined the town — American Guide Series: Texas
undo , in this comparison, is a more neutral synonym for ruin
an inordinate impulsion to undo his rivals — H.O.Taylor
the cost of reequipping his many theaters proved one of the causes of his financial undoing — Americana Annual
the battle left him untouched; it was the peace that undid him — Virginia Woolf
to undo a lifetime of effort
wreck suggests a ruining as by a crash or by being shattered; in figurative use, it implies an injuring past all hope of repair or reconstruction
the collision wrecked the car beyond repair
she … wrecked several saloons with stones and iron bars — C.M.Thomas
warned that if private educational institutions were wrecked it would be a disaster to the country — A.J.Schaefer
attempting to degrade and wreck the classical concept of the genus — W.H.Camp
wreck plans for a new school
wrack , now infrequent in this connection and even then archaic or largely in poetic use, suggests an overwhelming catastrophe or widespread ruin
the seas … wracking whole fleets in pride like river toys — F.T.Palgrave
a civilization wracked by its own evil ways
dilapidate , in earlier use implying ruin by wastefulness as well as neglect, now generally implies ruin, especially of a building, mainly through neglect, suggesting a run-down, tumbledown condition
they tax the country according to their pleasure, and dilapidate the estates of the King's friends — Sir Walter Scott
a dilapidated old shack of a house
its cities were dilapidated, its public buildings run down and dirty — Carleton Beals
an old and dilapidated -looking car — Francis Stuart