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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of destructive
Marigolds, in addition to luring aphids and other pests away from zucchini plants, kill soil nematodes, destructive soil-dwelling worms, by releasing a chemical in the soil.
—
Nadia Hassani, The Spruce, 19 May 2026
The forces that drive a supercell storm to create a tornado — especially enormous and destructive twisters like those in Joplin, Missouri, in 2011, and El Reno, Oklahoma, in 2013 — are less understood.
—Emily Holshouser
may 19, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 May 2026
Röösli noted that the injector, one of the most critical parts of the propulsion unit, had to precisely mix propane and liquid oxygen, and prevent destructive pressure waves from traveling backward into the supply lines.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 18 May 2026
Such foolhardy male striving, the movie suggests, is all too often destructive.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for destructive
Nadia Hassani, The Spruce, 19 May 2026
The forces that drive a supercell storm to create a tornado — especially enormous and destructive twisters like those in Joplin, Missouri, in 2011, and El Reno, Oklahoma, in 2013 — are less understood.
—Emily Holshouser
may 19, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 May 2026
Röösli noted that the injector, one of the most critical parts of the propulsion unit, had to precisely mix propane and liquid oxygen, and prevent destructive pressure waves from traveling backward into the supply lines.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 18 May 2026
Such foolhardy male striving, the movie suggests, is all too often destructive.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for destructive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for destructive
Adjective
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Nearly all industrial hydrogen is currently produced by stripping it from fossil fuels like coal and natural gas, a process that emits devastating amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
18 May 2026
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Putin has claimed that Oreshnik’s multiple warheads plunge at speeds of up to Mach 10 and can’t be intercepted, and that several such missiles used in a conventional strike could be as devastating as a nuclear attack.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 May 2026
Adjective
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Stearns had nothing to do with any of them — and everything to do with the disastrous offseason that made the Mets the worst team in baseball for most of April.—
Bill Madden,
New York Daily News,
16 May 2026
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Based on a script by Justin Varava that made the 2024 Black List, Turpentine follows a deadbeat son who hires friends to rob his own parents to pay off a bookie, with disastrous results.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
15 May 2026
Adjective
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Graham himself would also be out of luck if past Trump criticism were always politically fatal.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
19 May 2026
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Moments after a security guard broke up the beating and the teenagers scattered, the 13-year-old came upon David and his girlfriend at the fountain plaza next to the theaters where the fatal stabbing took place.—
Julia Prodis Sulek,
Mercury News,
19 May 2026
Adjective
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However, Cincinnati and Washington have been done in by unfortunate injuries and organizational disorder.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
16 May 2026
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The unfortunate problem is that, like most other things, the system can be gamed—people could submit flawed content that lists people as authors who have never been involved.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
15 May 2026
Adjective
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In July 1997, parts of Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic were struck by catastrophic river flooding that left more than 100 people dead.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
14 May 2026
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Blake scrambles back to prevent the catastrophic, but the shot flies over the bar.—
Franklin Leonard,
Vanity Fair,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Destructive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/destructive. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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