It was one of the most destructive storms in recent memory.
She argued that the law was destructive of personal liberties.
The school is concerned about the destructive behavior of a few students.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'destructive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
15th century
annihilatory, calamitous, cataclysmal (or cataclysmic), devastating, devastative, disastrous, ruinous;
constructive, creative, formative, productive;
harmless, innocent, innocuous, inoffensive;
ameliorative, helpful, useful;
healthful, healthy, nonfatal, nonlethal, salubrious, wholesome;
baleful, deadly, deathly, fatal, lethal, mortal, murderous, pestilent, poisonous, virulent, vital;
: causing a very large amount of damage : causing destruction or harm
See words that rhyme with destructive Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for destructive Spanish Central: Translation of destructive Nglish: Translation of destructive for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of destructive for Arabic speakers
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