destruction

/dɪsˈtrʌkʃɪn/

/dɛsˈtrʌkʃən/

Other forms: destructions

Destruction is damage so bad, things must be replaced, not fixed. Tornadoes often leave a trail of destruction, damaging neighborhoods and knocking down houses.

The Latin word destructionem, "a pulling down," is the root of destruction. When destruction strikes, things do get pulled down — from houses in the case of natural disasters or a big display of canned soups in the case of a careless shopper. Sometimes, destruction refers to death, as when critics of war talk about the resulting destruction of human life.

Definitions of destruction

1. noun

   an event (or the result of an event) that completely destroys something
   synonyms: demolition, wipeout

   types:

   annihilation, disintegration

   total destruction

   eradication, obliteration

   the complete destruction of every trace of something

   depredation, ravage

   (usually plural) a destructive action

   razing, wrecking

   the event of a structure being completely demolished and leveled

   ruin, ruination

   an event that results in destruction

   rack, wrack

   the destruction or collapse of something

   extermination, extinction

   complete annihilation

   desolation, devastation

   an event that results in total destruction

   shipwreck

   an irretrievable loss

   type of:

   conclusion, ending, finish

   event whose occurrence ends something
2. noun

   the termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired or no longer exists
   synonyms: devastation

   types:

   disaster

   an act that has disastrous consequences

   kill

   the destruction of an enemy plane or ship or tank or missile

   laying waste, ruin, ruination, ruining, wrecking

   destruction achieved by causing something to be wrecked or ruined

   demolishing, leveling, razing, tearing down

   complete destruction of a building

   annihilation, obliteration

   destruction by annihilating something

   decimation

   the destruction or killing of a large part of the population (literally every tenth person as chosen by lot)

   self-destruction

   the act of destroying yourself

   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)

   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

   atomisation, atomization

   annihilation by reducing something to atoms

   pulverisation, pulverization

   annihilation by pulverizing something

   vaporisation, vaporization

   annihilation by vaporizing something

   bombing

   the use of bombs for sabotage; a tactic frequently used by terrorists

   type of:

   conclusion, ending, termination

   the act of ending something
3. noun

   a final state
   synonyms: death, end

   type of:

   state

   the way something is with respect to its main attributes