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“destroy”
decimate, demolish, destroy
decimate (DES uh mayt") (verb)
1. To eliminate or to get rid of a large number of plants, animals, people, etc.: If we do not get rain soon, it will decimate the farm crops in this area.
2. To severely damage or destroy a large part of something: The government's budget cuts will decimate public services in many small towns.
2. To severely damage or destroy a large part of something: The government's budget cuts will decimate public services in many small towns.
demolish (di MAHL ish) (verb)
1. To eliminate credibility: The gossip in the office threatened to demolish the reputation of the manager.
2. To break up into pieces or to tear down: The construction company used large equipment to demolish the abandoned building.
2. To break up into pieces or to tear down: The construction company used large equipment to demolish the abandoned building.
The contractors will demolish the old factory to make way for a new parking lot and a large quantity of explosives will be used to demolish it.
destroy (di STROI) (verb)
To spoil or ruin the condition of an object: Flooding in the basement will destroy the furniture that is stored there.
Olivia plans to demolish the old shed in the back. She knows it will destroy the home of a colony of raccoons; in fact, it will actually decimate their numbers in the neighborhood.
This entry is located in the following unit:
Confusing Words Clarified: Group D; Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, Polysemes, etc. +
(page 2)
destroy (verb), destroys; destroyed; destroying
1. To cause so much damage to something that it is completely ruined or does not exist any more: "The fire completely destroyed the building."
2. To demolish something or to reduce something into fragments: "All of the files were destroyed."
3. To ruin something or to make it useless; as well as, to abolish, to rescind, or to end it.
4. To ruin; to spoil; or to render someone or something useless: "He had a disease that destroys the body."
5. To annihilate, to crush, to subdue, or to defeat.
6. To be destructive or to cause destruction: "The gas explosion destroyed several stores in the business district."
7. Etymology: from early 13th century, from Old French destruire in the 12th century and then Modern French détruire, "to destroy, to ravage, to lay waste"; from Vulgar Latin destrugere, "refashioned" that is influenced by destructus; from Latin destruere, "to tear down, to demolish"; literally, "un-build" from de- "un-, down" + struere. "to pile, to build".
2. To demolish something or to reduce something into fragments: "All of the files were destroyed."
3. To ruin something or to make it useless; as well as, to abolish, to rescind, or to end it.
4. To ruin; to spoil; or to render someone or something useless: "He had a disease that destroys the body."
5. To annihilate, to crush, to subdue, or to defeat.
6. To be destructive or to cause destruction: "The gas explosion destroyed several stores in the business district."
7. Etymology: from early 13th century, from Old French destruire in the 12th century and then Modern French détruire, "to destroy, to ravage, to lay waste"; from Vulgar Latin destrugere, "refashioned" that is influenced by destructus; from Latin destruere, "to tear down, to demolish"; literally, "un-build" from de- "un-, down" + struere. "to pile, to build".
This entry is located in the following units:
de-
(page 40)
stru-, struct-, -structure, -struction, -structive
(page 2)
A unit related to:
“destroy”
(Latin: originally, wanderer; then destroyer; destroy, deface, harm)
(Latin: to destroy, to efface, to abolish, to obliterate)
(Greek: to harm, to hurt, to injure, to damage, to destroy; destroyer; harmful)
(Latin: strike, to strike down; to destroy, dashed down, damaged, destroyed)
(Latin: to destroy, to die out)