1
as in devastating
causing or tending to cause destruction
the destructive storm blew down trees all over town, and blew the roof off our neighbor's house
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in disastrous
bringing about ruin or misfortune
technology used for destructive ends
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of destructive
While moles typically make a mess of lawns, voles can be destructive throughout your garden.
—
Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 19 Apr. 2026
This would bring about a destructive reentry within hours or days.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 19 Apr. 2026
The development of a non-destructive method to measure rare-earth elements in plants marks a major step forward in sustainable resource extraction.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 19 Apr. 2026
However, as temperatures rise and snowpack remains low, experts said conditions taking shape increasingly resemble those that in recent years have fueled some of the region's most destructive blazes.
—CBS News, 18 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for destructive
Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 19 Apr. 2026
This would bring about a destructive reentry within hours or days.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 19 Apr. 2026
The development of a non-destructive method to measure rare-earth elements in plants marks a major step forward in sustainable resource extraction.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 19 Apr. 2026
However, as temperatures rise and snowpack remains low, experts said conditions taking shape increasingly resemble those that in recent years have fueled some of the region's most destructive blazes.
—CBS News, 18 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for destructive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for destructive
Adjective
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In fact, the summer peaks of COVID in 2024 and 2025 were worse than their respective winter peaks, according to the California Department of Public Health — a stark departure from the earlier years of the pandemic, when winter surges ripped through California with devastating regularity.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2026
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In a statement on social media, the elderly woman’s granddaughter, Zoe Cooper, announced the devastating news.—
Sam Gillette,
PEOPLE,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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After last year’s disastrous Eaton fire, Southern California Edison executives vowed to be transparent about what caused the inferno that killed at least 19 people and left thousands of families homeless in Altadena.—
Melody Petersen,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
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Sturm then gave Swayman the mercy pull, which frankly could have happened after the disastrous first.—
Stephen Conroy,
Hartford Courant,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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James Ernest Hitchcock, 70, is scheduled to received a lethal injection for his conviction in the fatal beating and choking of his 13-year-old niece.—
David Fischer,
Sun Sentinel,
21 Apr. 2026
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Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Tuesday announced a criminal investigation into OpenAI’s ChatGPT, due to concerns that the platform aided the suspect accused of carrying out a fatal school shooting in the state.—
Emily Hallas,
The Washington Examiner,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Even before the president set off this unfortunate round of gerrymandering, Democratic states such as New York and Illinois were already heavily gerrymandered.—
Colin Pascal,
Baltimore Sun,
25 Apr. 2026
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He’s beaten by thugs with a crowbar for an unfortunate outburst, exploited by neighbors in the council estate and arrested, all because people don’t understand Tourette syndrome.—
Katie Walsh,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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In a department built to respond to catastrophic threats, employees have been reduced to bartering for office supplies.—
Nicole Sganga,
CBS News,
23 Apr. 2026
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Her daughter, who suffered a catastrophic brain injury as a child, requires around-the-clock care, including a ventilator, feeding tube and seizure monitoring — which Root largely manages at home.—
Mike Hixenbaugh,
NBC news,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Destructive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/destructive. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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