destructive Hear it!

destructive definition

de·struc·tive (di struk′tiv)

adjective

  1. tending or likely to cause destruction
  2. causing or producing destruction; destroying
  3. merely negative; not helpful destructive criticism

Etymology: OFr destructif < LL destructivus

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

destructive Synonyms

destructive

modif.

  1. Unfavorable

    adverse, negative, not constructive; see unfavorable 2.

  2. Destroying

    ruinous, noxious, baneful, pestiferous, noisome, cancerous, fatal, deleterious, pestilential, catastrophic, calamitous, disastrous, productive of serious evil, cataclysmal, eradicative, fell, demolitionary, devastating, dire, lethal, extirpative, internecine, mortal, mischievous, detrimental, annihilative, hurtful, harmful, arsonistic, conflagrative, subversive, incendiary, murderous, disruptive, suicidal, evil, injurious, venomous, pernicious, toxic, baleful, disintegrative, corrosive, corroding, erosive, eroding, damaging; see also deadly 1, harmful, poisonous.

    Antonyms helpful*, curative*, life-saving.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

destructive Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • distillation: It is manufactured by the destructive distillation of wood or cellulose, hence it is called ' wood alcohol ' .

Modifying Another Word

  • environmentally: Poverty is the most environmentally destructive force on the planet.

Used with adjective complement

  • prove: Trust is the key factor in any relationship, but one mistake can prove destructive.

Preposition: in

  • term: Mr Hain said France's policy might bring short-term gains, but described as destructive in the long term.

Preposition: of

  • environment: Furthermore, mainstream trade can be destructive of the environment, depriving the poor of sustainable livelihoods.

Preposition: than

  • war: This civil war was far more destructive than the war with Germany had been, since it encompassed the whole of the Russian empire.
destructive usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

destructive quotes

   A man that is born falls into a dream like a man who falls

-Korzeniowski

Future historians will surely see us as having created in the media a Frankenstein monster whom no one knows how to control ordirect, and marvelthat weshould have so meekly subjected ourselves to its destructive and often malign influence.

-Muggeridge, Malcolm

destructive quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Link to this page:

Cite this page:

MLA Style

"destructive." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/destructive>

APA Style

destructive. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/destructive

Comments:

Please or Register to post a comment