destruction

noun

de·​struc·​tion di-ˈstrək-shən 

1

: the state or fact of being destroyed : ruin

scenes of death and destruction

the destruction of their careers

2

: the action or process of destroying something

the destruction of the building

3

: a destroying agency

Alcohol will be his destruction.

Synonyms of destruction

• devastation
• havoc
• demolition
• extinction
• loss
• extermination

Examples of destruction in a Sentence

War results in death and widespread destruction.

We are trying to save the building from destruction.

Recent Examples on the Web

My group Unleash Prosperity warned repeatedly during the Biden years that the auto industry was sowing the seeds of its own destruction by getting hooked on the fool’s profits of taxpayer handouts for EVs. —Stephen Moore, Boston Herald, 26 Feb. 2026

This team is capable of beauty, such as during the destruction of the Sixers. —Fred Katz, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2026

But when the pair’s powers accidentally transform Anna’s former fling Danny (Jordan Dulieu) into something horrific, the trio is forced to reckon with the destruction intimacy can summon. —Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 Feb. 2026

To be in a place built—so very expensively—on fossil fuels, listening to endless green talk from an industry profiting off planetary destruction, is far more discombobulating than the astonishing shopping options. —Literary Hub, 26 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English destruccioun, from Anglo-French destruction, from Latin destruction-, destructio, from destruere — see destroy

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing destruction

• seed/seeds of one's own destruction
• self-destruction
• weapon of mass destruction
• weapons of mass destruction

Rhymes for destruction

• abduction
• adduction
• conduction
• construction
• deduction
• eduction
• induction
• instruction
• obstruction
• production
• reduction
• seduction

Kids Definition

destruction

noun

de·​struc·​tion di-ˈstrək-shən 

1

: the state or fact of being destroyed : ruin

2

: the action or process of destroying something