de|stroy´ing|ly

de|stroy «dih STROY», transitive verb.

1. to break to pieces; make useless; spoil; ruin: »

Careless children destroy all their toys. Drought destroyed the corn crop.

2. to put an end to; do away with: »

A heavy rain destroyed all hope of a picnic.

SYNONYM(S): abolish, extinguish.

3. to deprive of life; kill: »

Fire destroys many trees every year.

4. to counteract the effect of; make void: »

A child's confidence can be destroyed by correcting his every move. The exceptions do not destroy the authority of the rule (Macaulay).

–v.i.

to be destructive; destroy things.

╂[< Old French destruire < Vulgar Latin dēstrūgere < Latin dēstruere < dē- un-, down + struere pile, build]

–de|stroy´ing|ly, adverb.

Synonym Study transitive verb. 1 Destroy, demolish mean to pull down or wreck the structure of something. Destroy means to make useless by breaking to pieces, taking apart, killing, or in any other of many ways: »

The paintings were completely destroyed in the fire.

Demolish means to ruin by tearing down or smashing to pieces and applies only to things thought of as having been built up, such as buildings or, figuratively, arguments and theories: »

The city demolished many buildings to make room for the speedway.