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Definition of destructive
1 : causing destruction : ruinous destructive storm
2 : designed or tending to hurt or destroy destructive criticism
destructively
adverbdestructiveness
nounFrom the M-W Editors
Examples of destructive in a Sentence
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.
Recent Examples of destructive from the Web
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Within minutes of setting the malware into motion on one of the machines, the infection spreads across the network and runs its destructive course.
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American sports culture, even in far more popular leagues, isn’t as venomous or destructive as what Cole experienced at home.
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The destructive vanity of Herostratus must give Steve Bannon the odd boner, as nothing really gets sweaty ol' Bannon charged up like dumb, pointless anarchy.
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Besides trying to crack down on dynamite fishing and other destructive practices from local fishermen, the government continues to fight a battle against illegal trawlers that come into Indonesian waters from other Asian countries:
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Russell, 21, was charged last month with possession of unregistered destructive devices and unlawful storage of explosive material.
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The Niagara River is beautiful—but as one power company saw on this day in 1956, also destructive.
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When something or someone stresses you, your body's reactions range from harmless (like your pupils dilating) to damn near self-destructive (like stress hormones releasing).
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There has never in US history been such a destructive megalomaniac in the WH.
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.
First Known Use of destructive
15th century
DESTRUCTIVE Defined for English Language Learners
destructive
playDefinition of destructive for English Language Learners
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: causing a very large amount of damage : causing destruction or harm
DESTRUCTIVE Defined for Kids
destructive
playDefinition of destructive for Students
1 : causing great damage or ruin a destructive storm
2 : not positive or helpful destructive criticism
Learn More about destructive
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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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