Synonyms of destroying

destroying

verb

present participle of destroy

1

as in ruining

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

• ruining
• wrecking
• demolishing
• shattering
• devastating
• smashing
• damaging
• wasting
• overcoming
• eroding
• extinguishing
• annihilating
• decimating
• marring
• dismantling
• crippling
• razing
• killing
• vaporizing
• ravaging
• pulverizing
• removing
• crushing
• defeating
• blasting
• totaling
• breaking
• injuring
• nuking
• subduing
• wracking
• tearing down
• creaming
• pulling down
• doing in
• conquering
• harming
• disintegrating
• spoiling
• desolating
• impairing
• eradicating
• deteriorating
• trimming
• mutilating
• licking
• dissolving
• mastering
• rubbing out
• obliterating
• defacing
• surmounting
• clobbering
• assassinating
• dynamiting
• whipping
• vandalizing
• prevailing (over)
• slaughtering
• disfiguring
• winning (against)
• undoing
• routing
• murdering
• plundering
• beating
• mangling
• exterminating
• scouring
• gutting
• vitiating
• besting
• thrashing
• wearing (away)
• disassembling
• triumphing (over)
• sweeping (away)
• sacking
• liquidating
• despoiling
• expunging
• extirpating
• looting
• trampling
• executing
• trashing
• walloping
• massacring
• pillaging
• effacing
• blowing up
• trouncing
• slaying
• wiping out
• overmatching
• washing out
• scotching
• dispatching
• taking down
• zapping
• overbearing
• butchering
• unmaking
• cutting down
• stamping (out)
• blotting out
• dilapidating
• drubbing
• rooting (out)
• unbuilding
• killing off
• felling
• snuffing (out)
• taking out
• mowing (down)
• skunking
• havocking

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• building
• constructing
• creating
• raising
• repairing
• erecting
• fixing
• rearing
• producing
• setting up
• making
• forming
• putting up
• establishing
• inventing
• shaping
• manufacturing
• assembling
• protecting
• forging
• preserving
• organizing
• saving
• framing
• fashioning
• constituting
• molding
• revamping
• fabricating
• patching
• reconditioning
• restoring
• mending
• instituting
• conserving
• bringing about
• doctoring
• founding
• rebuilding
• reconstructing
• remodeling
• fathering
• renovating

2

as in ravaging

to bring destruction to (something) through violent action

wildfires destroyed thousands of acres in forests across the state

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ravaging
• devastating
• ruining
• wrecking
• plundering
• obliterating
• eradicating
• shattering
• scourging
• stripping
• despoiling
• looting
• demolishing
• pillaging
• sacking
• annihilating
• extinguishing
• vaporizing
• decimating
• marauding
• wasting
• smashing
• expunging
• extirpating
• harrying
• wiping out
• totaling
• overwhelming
• razing
• nuking
• wracking
• mowing
• overthrowing
• desolating
• overrunning
• foraying
• overpowering
• crushing
• rubbing out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• restoring
• recovering
• rehabilitating
• repairing
• fixing
• redeeming
• reconditioning
• mending
• patching
• revamping

3

as in killing

to deprive of life

regrettably, the veterinarian was forced to destroy the injured horse

Synonyms & Similar Words

• killing
• slaying
• taking
• murdering
• dispatching
• claiming
• slaughtering
• felling
• carrying off
• doing away with
• assassinating
• doing for
• neutralizing
• doing in
• croaking
• wasting
• annihilating
• decimating
• finishing
• massacring
• snuffing
• making away with
• butchering
• cutting down
• whacking
• executing
• smiting
• mowing
• terminating
• getting
• offing
• taking out
• killing off
• putting away
• rubbing out
• blotting out
• knocking off
• icing
• bumping off
• scragging
• martyring
• euthanizing
• putting down
• suiciding

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• restoring
• animating
• raising
• reviving
• resurrecting
• nurturing
• resuscitating

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of destroying

The show was filmed across Northern Ireland, and the weather proved to be brutal, with the rain constantly destroying sets that had to be rebuilt. — Matt Minton, Variety, 18 Aug. 2026

The Ukrainian defenders repelled the attack and posted video footage of their kamikaze drone strikes destroying at least seven T-72B3A tanks, including some that carried the Arena-M system, according to Euromaidan Press. — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 18 Aug. 2026

Hours earlier, Russian missiles slammed into the village of Pechenihy in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, killing at least 10 civilians, injuring more than a dozen and destroying homes and local businesses. — Hanna Arhirova, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2026

Heat and drought were destroying the measures meant to temper them. — Eric Klinenberg, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026

Drug use and addiction is destroying families and if our film can save lives, our mission is accomplished. — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026

This all continued in DC Rebirth in 2016, where Sinestro is hosted by Parallax and faces off against Jordan, who ends up destroying the Sinestro Corps base, Warworld. — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026

Gen gets to bust out her flapper dress only to witness the most horrific, awful, potentially career-destroying failure … the caviar, oysters, and bread are all crowded onto the bread plate. — Emma Soren, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2026

In some of China’s most productive regions, water scarcity and water pollution threaten farming; in other areas, torrential rainfall and flooding—made more frequent by climate change—are destroying crops. — Caitlin Welsh, Foreign Affairs, 11 Aug. 2026