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
In fact, NotPetya was a highly destructive file shredder only ever intended to destroy data, while masking its true purpose.
—
Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 4 July 2025
After destructive winds struck the city in the 1990s, Barnett said Latino construction workers soon arrived to help rebuild.
—Alexandria Burris, IndyStar, 3 July 2025
Federal investigators on Thursday joined the probe into the destructive blast as the search for answers and victims entered a third day in Esparto.
—Darrell Smith
july 3, Sacbee.com, 3 July 2025
Ultimately, that limits their ability to save for long-term goals, like paying for college or buying a house, and to respond to crises, like a health emergency, job loss or destructive hurricane.
—Miami Herald, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for destructive
Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 4 July 2025
After destructive winds struck the city in the 1990s, Barnett said Latino construction workers soon arrived to help rebuild.
—Alexandria Burris, IndyStar, 3 July 2025
Federal investigators on Thursday joined the probe into the destructive blast as the search for answers and victims entered a third day in Esparto.
—Darrell Smith
july 3, Sacbee.com, 3 July 2025
Ultimately, that limits their ability to save for long-term goals, like paying for college or buying a house, and to respond to crises, like a health emergency, job loss or destructive hurricane.
—Miami Herald, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for destructive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for destructive
Adjective
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Historically, the most devastating result from tariffs came from the sweeping Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act that began to wend its way through Congress in 1929, triggering the infamous stock market crash.—
Steve Forbes,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
-
Here's what to know about the devastating wildfire.—
Perry Vandell,
AZCentral.com,
14 July 2025
Adjective
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That does not mean people place blind faith in AI or use it to displace human-to-human interactions; that would be disastrous.—
Yasmin Green,
Foreign Affairs,
7 July 2025
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It was largely forgotten about until closer to release (December 2020 was launch, and its disastrous release was all anyone could talk about).—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
5 July 2025
Adjective
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Priya allegedly injected her business partner with a fatal overdose of sedatives, Joseph said.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
15 July 2025
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In the aftermath of Hinton's arrest, members of his family distanced themselves from his actions and instead hired an attorney to conduct a review of the fatal police shooting of his son, Ryan Hinton.—
David Ferrara,
The Enquirer,
14 July 2025
Adjective
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Instead, like so many unfortunate accidents since cell phones were invented, this was caused by a distracted driver.—
Anne Marie D. Lee,
CBS News,
14 July 2025
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Fortunately for him, that gaffe will be a little easier to live down than Teal and Weinberg’s unfortunate comments.—
Krista Kafer,
Denver Post,
12 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Destructive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/destructive. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
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