Destroy — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of

destroy completely; damage irreparably

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/dɹˈɛnt/

🇬🇧British English

/dɪstɹˈɔɪ/

🇮🇳Indian English

/dɪstɹˈɔɪ/

2 syllables Say it as /dɹˈɛnt/.

Examples

The fire destroyed the house
You have ruined my car by pouring sugar in the tank!
The tears ruined her make-up

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

destruct ruin demolish put down

Parts of Speech

verb	do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of “The fire destroyed the house”
verb	destroy completely; damage irreparably “You have ruined my car by pouring sugar in the tank!”
verb	defeat soundly “The home team demolished the visitors”
verb	put (an animal) to death “The customs agents destroyed the dog that was found to be rabid”

Word Forms

destructible	adjective	easily destroyed
destructive	adjective	causing destruction or much damage
destruction	noun	the termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired or no longer exists
destroyer	noun	a person who destroys or ruins or lays waste to
ruin	noun	destruction achieved by causing something to be wrecked or ruined
ruination	noun	destruction achieved by causing something to be wrecked or ruined
ruiner	noun	a person who destroys or ruins or lays waste to
ruining	noun	destruction achieved by causing something to be wrecked or ruined
demolition	noun	the act of demolishing

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

zerstören

beseitigen, die Zerstörung oder das Vernichten von verursachen

🇫🇷French

détruire

supprimer, provoquer la destruction ou la destruction de

🇪🇸Spanish

destruir

eliminar, provocar la destrucción o la destrucción de

🇮🇹Italian

distruggere

eliminare, causare la distruzione o il disfacimento di

🇳🇱Dutch

vernietigen

afschaffen, de vernietiging of het ongedaan maken ervan veroorzaken

🇵🇹Portuguese

destruir

acabar com, causar a destruição ou destruição de

🇷🇺Russian

разрушать

покончить, вызвать уничтожение или уничтожение

India

🇮🇳Hindi

नष्ट करना

दूर करना, नष्ट करना या नष्ट करना

🇧🇩Bengali

ধ্বংস

do away with, cause destruction or undoing of

🇮🇳Tamil

அழிக்க

அழித்தல் அல்லது அழித்தல்

🇮🇳Telugu

నాశనం

అంతమొందించండి, విధ్వంసం లేదా రద్దు చేయడం

🇮🇳Marathi

नष्ट करणे

दूर करणे, नाश किंवा पूर्ववत करणे

🇮🇳Gujarati

નાશ

નાબૂદ કરવું, વિનાશનું કારણ અથવા પૂર્વવત્ કરવું

🇮🇳Kannada

ನಾಶಮಾಡು

ತೊಡೆದುಹಾಕು, ವಿನಾಶಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣವಾಗುವುದು ಅಥವಾ ರದ್ದುಗೊಳಿಸುವುದು

🇮🇳Malayalam

നശിപ്പിക്കുക

ഇല്ലായ്മ ചെയ്യുക, നശിപ്പിക്കുകയോ പൂർവാവസ്ഥയിലാക്കുകയോ ചെയ്യുക

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਨਸ਼ਟ ਕਰੋ

ਨੂੰ ਦੂਰ ਕਰੋ, ਵਿਨਾਸ਼ ਦਾ ਕਾਰਨ ਬਣੋ ਜਾਂ ਇਸ ਨੂੰ ਖਤਮ ਕਰੋ

🇵🇰Urdu

تباہ

کو ختم کرنا، تباہی کا سبب بننا یا ختم کرنا

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

破坏

废除、造成破坏或取消

🇯🇵Japanese

破壊する

～を廃止する、破壊または元に戻す原因となる

🇰🇷Korean

파괴하다

~을 없애다, 파괴시키거나 취소시키다

🇻🇳Vietnamese

hủy hoại

loại bỏ, gây ra sự phá hủy hoặc hoàn tác của

🇹🇭Thai

ทำลาย

ทำลายล้างหรือเลิกทำไป

🇮🇩Indonesian

menghancurkan

menghilangkan, menyebabkan kehancuran atau kehancuran

🇵🇭Filipino

sirain

puksain, maging sanhi ng pagkawasak o pagwawasak ng

🇲🇾Malay

memusnahkan

menghapuskan, menyebabkan kemusnahan atau kehancuran

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

تدمير

التخلص منه أو التسبب في تدميره أو التراجع عنه

🇮🇷Persian

نابود کردن

از بین بردن، باعث تخریب یا خنثی کردن آن شود

🇹🇷Turkish

tahrip etmek

ortadan kaldırmak, yok olmasına veya yok olmasına sebep olmak

🇮🇱Hebrew

לְהַשְׁמִיד

לבטל, לגרום להרס או לביטול

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'destroy'?

The primary meaning of 'destroy' is 'do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'destroy' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'destroy' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'destroy' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'destroy' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'destroy' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'destroy' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'destroy' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'destroy' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'destroy' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'destroy' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted