Synonyms of destroy

destroy

verb

di-ˈstrȯi 

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

• ruin
• demolish
• devastate
• shatter
• wreck
• smash
• overcome
• damage
• waste
• annihilate
• erode
• extinguish
• decimate
• vaporize
• kill
• dismantle
• cripple
• pulverize
• raze
• ravage
• mar
• remove
• crush
• desolate
• defeat
• cream
• injure
• tear down
• subdue
• pull down
• break
• total
• nuke
• rub out
• blast
• conquer
• spoil
• wrack
• do in
• disintegrate
• best
• eradicate
• impair
• harm
• obliterate
• dissolve
• assassinate
• deteriorate
• mutilate
• disfigure
• lick
• trim
• master
• win (against)
• prevail (over)
• surmount
• deface
• triumph (over)
• exterminate
• vitiate
• undo
• sweep (away)
• slaughter
• rout
• wear (away)
• beat
• dynamite
• whip
• extirpate
• blow up
• disassemble
• plunder
• expunge
• thrash
• mangle
• slay
• scour
• wipe out
• liquidate
• scotch
• clobber
• unmake
• sack
• havoc
• despoil
• wash out
• fell
• execute
• vandalize
• trounce
• overbear
• trample
• efface
• murder
• loot
• overmatch
• blot out
• gut
• take down
• pillage
• cut down
• zap
• kill off
• massacre
• snuff (out)
• unbuild
• drub
• stamp (out)
• dispatch
• dilapidate
• take out
• wallop
• trash
• butcher
• root (out)
• mow (down)
• skunk

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• build
• construct
• raise
• create
• set up
• erect
• repair
• put up
• fix
• produce
• patch
• make
• rear
• protect
• establish
• invent
• form
• found
• mend
• manufacture
• preserve
• assemble
• save
• shape
• constitute
• organize
• forge
• fabricate
• restore
• bring about
• mold
• institute
• revamp
• recondition
• conserve
• rebuild
• frame
• fashion
• reconstruct
• doctor
• father
• renovate
• remodel

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

• ravage
• devastate
• ruin
• plunder
• scourge
• obliterate
• eradicate
• overwhelm
• wreck
• shatter
• sack
• annihilate
• despoil
• demolish
• vaporize
• desolate
• extinguish
• wipe out
• extirpate
• decimate
• expunge
• strip
• pillage
• loot
• waste
• smash
• overthrow
• total
• mow
• harry
• raze
• nuke
• overpower
• overrun
• maraud
• wrack
• foray
• crush
• rub out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• restore
• recover
• rehabilitate
• redeem
• repair
• fix
• patch
• recondition
• mend
• revamp

3

as in to kill

to deprive of life

regrettably, the veterinarian was forced to destroy the injured horse

Synonyms & Similar Words

• kill
• slay
• take
• dispatch
• fell
• claim
• carry off
• murder
• slaughter
• assassinate
• do for
• neutralize
• do away with
• annihilate
• croak
• do in
• decimate
• waste
• cut down
• make away with
• finish
• execute
• off
• smite
• kill off
• massacre
• take out
• mow
• butcher
• put away
• whack
• terminate
• blot out
• snuff
• get
• ice
• bump off
• rub out
• knock off
• suicide
• scrag
• put down
• euthanize
• martyr

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• restore
• revive
• raise
• animate
• resurrect
• nurture
• resuscitate

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of destroy

Picture show Typhoon Halong severely impacted small Native villages in Western Alaska last fall, destroying infrastructure and displacing more than a thousand people. — Brittney Melton, NPR, 4 Nov. 2026

American bombers aiming for Nantes’ port hit the city center instead, killing about 1,400 people and destroying more than 700 buildings in two raids. — Shahnaz Bashir, The Conversation, 4 Nov. 2026

Iranian strikes also destroyed radomes, the outer shells that protect radar antennae, in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. — S. C. M. Paine, Foreign Affairs, 3 Nov. 2026

But a freak accident with a forklift destroyed his feet, leading to nearly a decade of operations and physical therapy. — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 3 Nov. 2026