How to Use destructive in a Sentence

destructive

adjective

• The school is concerned about the destructive behavior of a few students.
• It was one of the most destructive storms in recent memory.
• She argued that the law was destructive of personal liberties.
• The film, written with Jon Spaihts, picks up hours after the destructive events of the first film.
  — Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2024
• As a result, the legacy in many ways is very destructive.
  — Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2024
• Their lives were ripped apart in one of the deadliest and most destructive wars of the 21st century.
  — Samar Abu Elouf Samar Abu Elouf, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2024
• The men are dopey and destructive; the women clever and thwarted, with all the good lines and the truly depressing fates.
  — Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 12 June 2023
• The spilling of the tea propelled the dissolution of the bonds between Britain and her colonies, and led to seven years of destructive war.
  — The Editors, National Review, 16 Dec. 2023
• As the eye moved inland, destructive winds shredded signs and rooftops.
  — Daniel Kozin, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Aug. 2023
• Given the history of the destructive powers of wildfires, what took place in The Dalles the past two days could have been worse.
  — Thallman, oregonlive, 15 June 2023
• The size and strength of the hurricane and its wind fields, especially the inner core with the most destructive winds.
  — Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY, 5 Sep. 2023
• This is the destructive game that Trump is playing, and his lawyers seem happy (or at least willing) to go along with it.
  — John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2023
• The fires started Tuesday and fanned out across the island, growing in size and destructive power.
  — Karina Zaiets, USA TODAY, 11 Aug. 2023
• Here are some of the most destructive and deadly hurricanes ever to touch U.S. soil.
  — Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 15 June 2023
• The slime was destructive algae, the result of the excess of chemicals used by farmers to boost their crops, but at a high cost to nature.
  — Raf Casert, Quartz, 25 Feb. 2024
• Lebanese Army Forces began to deploy toward the camp, raising the prospect of a broader and more destructive battle.
  — Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Sep. 2023
• Taiwan’s earthquake preparedness has evolved over the past few decades in response to some of the island’s largest and most destructive quakes.
  — John Yoon, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
• There was optimism that the Wednesday quake would be less destructive.
  — Yaqoob Akbary, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2023
• The reactions of the villagers reflect on the destructive forces of gossip, judgment and revenge.
  — Karen Idelson, Variety, 12 Jan. 2024
• The rules, after all, are holding some pretty destructive forces back.
  — Sam Anderson, New York Times, 3 June 2023
• The destructive species has become a thorn in the side of biologists, who for years have tried and failed to eradicate the animals.
  — Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Jan. 2024
• And for those of you thinking of a chocolate teapot right now, that is, of course, the point: The work is temporary, perfectly marking the destructive nature of time.
  — Carol Besler, Robb Report, 29 July 2023
• What has been going on in the Middle East just adds to this feeling of destructive forces completely out of control.
  — David Marchese Photo Illustration By Bráulio Amado, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2024
• In the phone hacking case, Prince Harry told the court that every single article played a destructive role in his life.
  — Vulture, 6 June 2023
• The storm cause flooding in South Carolina and hammered Georgia with heavy rains and destructive winds.
  — Harold Maass, The Week, 1 Sep. 2023
• As the eye moved inland, destructive winds shredded signs and sent sheet metal flying.
  — Daniel Kozin, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2023
• While the destructive winds of a hurricane are feared, hurricane storm surges can be even more deadly.
  — George Petras, USA Today, 30 May 2023
• Much will be made about Fox News, Murdoch’s greatest and most destructive creation.
  — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 21 Sep. 2023
• There’s an old Icelandic myth that holds that this volcano, one of the country’s most active and destructive, is the gate of hell, and the hundreds of gulls circling it are condemned souls.
  — Kayla Becker, Travel + Leisure, 28 Oct. 2023
• Born of fire Many of North America’s ecosystems have evolved to survive and utilize fire’s destructive force.
  — Jamie Dickman, Popular Science, 14 June 2023

Last Updated: 3 May 2024