1
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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
3
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
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Recent Examples of destroy
The bodies of four people were found in the ruins of a house destroyed in overnight attacks, said Dnipropetrovsk regional head Oleksandr Hanzha.
—
Elise Morton, Arkansas Online, 26 Apr. 2026
Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed.
—Star-Telegram Weather Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Apr. 2026
Last week’s fire in Georgia destroyed dozens of homes in a region historically spared from such devastation.
—Seth Borenstein, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2026
While in the region, Curiosity recently utilized its onboard Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite, built to search for compounds of the element carbon that are associated with life and investigate ways in which these compounds are generated and destroyed in the Martian ecosphere.
—Leonard David, Space.com, 21 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for destroy
Elise Morton, Arkansas Online, 26 Apr. 2026
Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed.
—Star-Telegram Weather Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Apr. 2026
Last week’s fire in Georgia destroyed dozens of homes in a region historically spared from such devastation.
—Seth Borenstein, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2026
While in the region, Curiosity recently utilized its onboard Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite, built to search for compounds of the element carbon that are associated with life and investigate ways in which these compounds are generated and destroyed in the Martian ecosphere.
—Leonard David, Space.com, 21 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for destroy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for destroy
Verb
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However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
26 Apr. 2026
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Apparently, staff learned to wash their hands, but the roaches returned to ruin another inspector’s visit.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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An offense built on length has been ravaged by injuries and some sort of affliction that has the Mets regularly hitting the ball into the ground instead of in the air.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
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National income per person had fallen from about $8,000 in 2012 to $5,000 in 2024, ravaged by inflation, corruption and sanctions.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Turkey denies the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
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Denver police on Thursday arrested a 28-year-old man who investigators said shot and killed another man in a fight near South Broadway and West Maple Avenue, department officials said in a news release.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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After six years of plans to redevelop the shuttered MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island, the owners would like to demolish the building and build a data center on the property, according to city officials.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
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In January, Publix closed its 40-year-old Palms store and by mid-April it was demolished to make way for a bigger, contemporary supermarket.—
Howard Cohen,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Experts feared that Asian economies — which imported 90% of the oil traversing through the Strait of Hormuz before the war — could be devastated by a prolonged disruption to Gulf crude production.—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
30 Apr. 2026
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Other school committee members like Keegan are devastated by the current state of the budget.—
Kristina Rex,
CBS News,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The rest of the killings were all planned, the victims slain inside the family’s home, most in the basement, when the rest of the family was not home, Heuermann said.—
David K. Li,
NBC news,
23 Apr. 2026
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But all that would change after the July 7, 2021, slaying of Haiti’s president, when both agents would eventually cut off contact with Pretel and the FBI terminated its contractual engagement with him.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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By 2025, the War on Terror had shattered entire nations and economies, displaced some 40 million citizens and directly and indirectly killed over four million.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Apr. 2026
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But the illusion shatters when a stranger on the street recognizes the dog… as HER boyfriend Danny’s dog.—
William Earl,
Variety,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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That's what usually happens when the leaders wreck at Daytona and 'Dega.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
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Two cars were wrecked and two people suffered injuries in a crash on busy Irving Park Road in the neighborhood of the same name early Monday morning.—
Kris Habermehl,
CBS News,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Destroy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/destroy. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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