DESTROY • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Destroy

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/dɪstrˈɔɪ/ Listen

verb

Destroy v. t. (past & past part. destroyed; pres. part. destroying)

To unbuild; to pull or tear down; to separate virulently into its constituent parts; to break up the structure and organic existence of; to demolish. "But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves."

To ruin; to bring to naught; to put an end to; to annihilate; to consume. "I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation."

To put an end to the existence, prosperity, or beauty of; to kill. "If him by force he can destroy, or, worse, By some false guile pervert."

Synonyms: To demolish; lay waste; consume; raze; dismantle; ruin; throw down; overthrow; subvert; desolate; devastate; deface; extirpate; extinguish; kill; slay. See Demolish.

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Etymology of 'Destroy'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Destroy" Quotes from Famous Books

... the truth of the matter, dear friend, and as this explanation must never get beyond your own knowledge I charge you to destroy this letter as soon as it is read. When you are abroad next year we will meet and consider this and other matters in which we are mutually interested. I would not have ventured to put this on paper ...

— Mary Louise • Edith van Dyne (one of L. Frank Baum's pen names)

... prosecutors, still it would be wrong to put them forward. Moreover, the senate's selection would be a sort of hint to the emperor whom to approve and whom to avoid. 'Good friends are the most effective instruments of good government. Marcellus ought to be content with having driven Nero to destroy so many innocent people. Let him enjoy the impunity and the profit he has won from that, and leave Vespasian ...

— Tacitus: The Histories, Volumes I and II • Caius Cornelius Tacitus

... fight at Princeton with the Trustees of that University. You better than any one else in this country know what it is to have a pack of enemies at your heels. This is what is happening in my friend's case. My enemies in Missouri have conspired to destroy this man because he has been my friend and has fought my battles for me. This man whom I have asked you to appoint has been my campaign manager. He has visited my home; we have been life-long friends, and I will stake my life upon ...

— Woodrow Wilson as I Know Him • Joseph P. Tumulty

... how to behave towards him; and taking a diamond ring from her finger, desired he would wear it for her sake. He received the pledge as became him, and presented another in exchange, which she at first refused, alleging that it would destroy the intent of her acknowledgment; but Peregrine assured her he had accepted her jewel, not as a proof of her gratitude, but as the mark of her love; and that if she refused a mutual token, he should look upon himself as the object of her disdain. Her eyes kindled, and her cheeks ...

— The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, Volume I • Tobias Smollett

... birds, cormorants, white cranes, and other waders, large and small. We might land on the island, and save our lives; but the wind setting directly on it, we might lose our canoe, or, at all events, the water would break into her and destroy our goods. Domingos steered the canoe admirably, while we made every effort to keep off the island. Presently down came the blast with greater fury than before. Some of the smaller birds were carried off their legs and borne away by the wind. ...

— On the Banks of the Amazon • W.H.G. Kingston

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