as in to implode
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Recent Examples of self-destruct
Simon insisted that, contrary to Ehrlich’s predictions, humanity would not self-destruct by overusing the planet’s resources.
—
Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
The radical outliers self-destruct during the high jinks (they get arrested or killed), but most people exhaust themselves and are happy to return to their workweek lives.
—Chuck Palahniuk, Vulture, 13 Nov. 2025
Today’s software needs to prevent problems from happening, not proliferate them or self-destruct.
—Laura Crabtree, Fortune, 12 Nov. 2025
Halfmann found it a bit unsettling to think that so many cells carry these self-destruct buttons just waiting to be pushed.
—Jon Hamilton, NPR, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-destruct
Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
The radical outliers self-destruct during the high jinks (they get arrested or killed), but most people exhaust themselves and are happy to return to their workweek lives.
—Chuck Palahniuk, Vulture, 13 Nov. 2025
Today’s software needs to prevent problems from happening, not proliferate them or self-destruct.
—Laura Crabtree, Fortune, 12 Nov. 2025
Halfmann found it a bit unsettling to think that so many cells carry these self-destruct buttons just waiting to be pushed.
—Jon Hamilton, NPR, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-destruct
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-destruct
Verb
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New York — In the summer of 2008, weeks before the investment bank Lehman Brothers imploded, oil prices skyrocketed to nearly $150 a barrel.—
Matt Egan,
CNN Money,
2 Apr. 2026
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Push this ideology a step further and the entire economy implodes.—
Andrew Behar,
Fortune,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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From crumbling stacks of CDs — featuring Prince, Paul Simon, Kylie Minogue, and PJ Harvey — to old jewelry boxes, and even her beloved first copy of Brothers Grimm’s Fairytale, every item held countless memories that helped Humberstone shape her second album Cruel World.—
Maya Georgi,
Rolling Stone,
6 Apr. 2026
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If the dinosaurs and woolly mammoths that once roamed the Earth had since crumbled into dust, then what hope was there for humanity?—
Kathryn Hughes,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The best coaches will set aside time to work on new drills, figure out lineups, game plan for future opponents, and many other things that go under the radar but can make-or-break a season.—
Jack Murray,
Boston Herald,
19 Mar. 2026
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Since Farm Credit brought its suit against Uncle Nearest, a judge ordered the company go under receivership.—
Essence,
Essence,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-destruct.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-destruct. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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