DESTROY Synonyms: 203 Similar and Opposite Words

destroy

verb

di-ˈstrȯi

Definition of destroy

as in to ruin

to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of they practically destroyed the safe in order to get at the money inside their poor scores on the final exam destroyed any chance they might have had to pass the course

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to ravage

to bring destruction to (something) through violent action wildfires destroyed thousands of acres in forests across the state

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to kill

to deprive of life regrettably, the veterinarian was forced to destroy the injured horse

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of destroy Elizondo also was convicted on one count of attempting to destroy evidence, while Salgado also was found guilty of one count of lying to the FBI. — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026 There was the Norte fire last week that destroyed seven structures in Orange County. — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026 One crab can eat more than 40 juvenile soft-shell clams in a day, while also destroying seagrass habitats. — Victoria Malloy, Time, 21 Oct. 2026 Sutley, a structural engineer at the University of Kansas, has brought manufactured homes, which were once called mobile homes, to Miami to destroy them. — Daniel Wolfe, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for destroy

Recent Examples of Synonyms for destroy

Verb

Burdick seemed to have drawn directly from McCarthy’s experience, the hopelessness of fighting with his father over a world his father had already ruined, the surrender to indulgence and mindless violence because…why not?

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026
Each room is also outfitted with a Yale smart lock, which means there’s no room for that horrible feeling of losing a room key to ruin your vacation.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of ruin

Verb

Archaeologists in England have uncovered new remains at one of the country's oldest and largest medieval leprosy hospitals, hundreds of years after the disease ravaged communities across Britain.

— Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
The places where Baltzor typically ranges her cattle in the mountains were ravaged by record-size wildfires this summer, robbing them of the grass the herds usually eat.

— Anna King, NPR, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of ravage

Verb

Support for the populist had eroded since 16 people were killed in 2024 when a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in Novi Sad.

— JOVANA GEC, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026
The military campaign that ensued has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

— Eric Cortellessa, Time, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of kill

Verb

The building’s owner previously told The Star the building would not be demolished and that it could be redeveloped.

— Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2026
The 18-year-old female elephant got loose from her handler outside her enclosure, then went on the run, demolishing the door of a saloon on North Avenue, smashing in the window of another and walking through the fence around a vacant lot.

— Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of demolish

Verb

For two years, the war in Gaza devastated the Palestinian enclave, killed tens of thousands of people, and left Israeli hostages languishing in captivity.

— Eric Cortellessa, Time, 25 Oct. 2026
The rain is raising concerns in Altadena once again for families devastated by the Eaton Fire.

— Jasmine Viel, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of devastate

Verb

In a country so small and intimately connected, scarcely anyone was untouched by events that shattered the assumptions of a people whose nation was founded to give Jews a safe haven in their ancestral homeland.

— Eric Cortellessa, Time, 26 Oct. 2026
In fact, 2026 has already shattered the Biden-era record for the most number of days with $4 gas or higher.

— Matt Egan, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of shatter

Verb

Just as Bryan’s own ascent began, alcoholism almost wrecked his fellow Oklahoma heroes, Turnpike Troubadours.

— Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 20 Oct. 2026
Some people make money, some people use the buzz to shore up a brand, and some people get their lives wrecked, but who falls into this last category comes down to bad luck more than to justice.

— B. D. McClay, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of wreck

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de-stressing

destroy

destroyed

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“Destroy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/destroy. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of destroy

verb

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