1
as in devastation
the state or fact of being rendered nonexistent, physically unsound, or useless
the violent storm resulted in the destruction of their tree house
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in downfall
something that is the cause of one's ultimate failure or loss of life
alcohol will be her destruction if we don't intervene to help her
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of destruction
Evidence of Hurricane Michael’s destruction can still be seen in the fledgling sweetgum, magnolia, oak, and hickory trees sprouting with new growth.
—
Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 9 Nov. 2025
Aerial footage showed the destruction wrought by the twister, with roofs ripped off buildings, some of them reduced to rubble.
—CNN Money, 8 Nov. 2025
The Thing builds tension based on the premise that anyone, even your closest friend or partner, could be othered, transformed into a being that longs for your destruction.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 8 Nov. 2025
The plane fell shortly after takeoff, hitting a petroleum recycling center and carving a path of destruction through an industrial zone near the airport, killing at least 14 people, including a young child, and injuring several others.
—Keely Doll, Louisville Courier Journal, 8 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for destruction
Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 9 Nov. 2025
Aerial footage showed the destruction wrought by the twister, with roofs ripped off buildings, some of them reduced to rubble.
—CNN Money, 8 Nov. 2025
The Thing builds tension based on the premise that anyone, even your closest friend or partner, could be othered, transformed into a being that longs for your destruction.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 8 Nov. 2025
The plane fell shortly after takeoff, hitting a petroleum recycling center and carving a path of destruction through an industrial zone near the airport, killing at least 14 people, including a young child, and injuring several others.
—Keely Doll, Louisville Courier Journal, 8 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for destruction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for destruction
Noun
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After constant requests during two years of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the Israeli military finally brings our correspondent into the territory to see the devastation in post-war northern Gaza firsthand.—
Greg Dixon,
NPR,
5 Nov. 2025
-
In 2005, following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, park officials made the decision to close Six Flags New Orleans permanently.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The move comes 16 years after the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler that intensified Detroit’s downfall.—
Nathaniel Meyersohn,
CNN Money,
5 Nov. 2025
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Cuomo's downfall and his bid for NYC mayor But questions began to surface about his administration's management of elderly nursing home residents during the pandemic.—
Brian Mann,
NPR,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
At the center of all the glitzy havoc—her face often looming on a huge flat screen that rolls around the stage, following actors like a hulking LED stalker—is of course Chenoweth.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
10 Nov. 2025
-
After those rules are broken, the gremlin spawns more of its kind and end up wrecking havoc on Billy’s hometown during Christmas.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Wedding fundraising pages are not invoices that require payment under threat of credit ruination.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Mercury News,
19 Oct. 2025
-
To call it a Life Ruiner is not to say that a life of letters is necessarily ruination—but rather, to identify it as the book . . .—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The administration maintains that the NCPC has jurisdiction over construction rather than demolition.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
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Barrett Lo has said demolition could begin before the end of 2025.—
Adrienne Davis,
jsonline.com,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The Little Rock man who, police say, crashed while fleeing from an Arkansas State Police trooper last week now faces first-degree murder counts in the death of two teenage passengers, authorities said Wednesday.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Nov. 2025
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In short, at the heart within the kernel of concern for memory is a concern for death.—
Diana Arterian,
Literary Hub,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Sam Altman, of OpenAI, has claimed that generative AI could bring about the end of human civilization, and that AI poses a risk of extinction on a par with nuclear warfare and global pandemics.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
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And the global population of whales declined precipitously to the point of near extinction.—
Justin Worland,
Time,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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If the 2025 Ravens’ undoing is the team’s struggle in the trenches, DeCosta will deservedly bear the criticism for not doing more in the offseason to create more depth and also not adding more at the trade deadline.—
Jeff Zrebiec,
New York Times,
5 Nov. 2025
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That bandage, which Smith was made to wear around their healing torso, wound up to be the undoing of the whole ordeal.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Destruction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/destruction. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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