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destruction - 5 dictionary results

de⋅struc⋅tion

  [di-struhk-shuhn]
Use destruction in a Sentence
–noun
1. the act of destroying: wanton destruction of a town.
2. the condition of being destroyed; demolition; annihilation.
3. a cause or means of destroying.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME (< AF) < L dēstructiōn- (s. of dēstructiō), equiv. to dēstruct(us) (ptp. of dēstruere; see destroy ) + -iōn- -ion

Synonyms:
1. See ruin.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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de·struc·tion   (dĭ-strŭk'shən)   
n.  
    1. The act of destroying.
    2. The condition of having been destroyed.
  2. The cause or means of destroying: weapons that could prove to be the destruction of humankind.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin dēstrūctiō, dēstrūctiōn-, from dēstrūctus, past participle of dēstruere, to destroy; see destroy.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Destruction

De*struc"tion\, n. [L. destructio: cf. F. destruction. See Destroy.]

1. The act of destroying; a tearing down; a bringing to naught; subversion; demolition; ruin; slaying; devastation.

The Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction. --Esth. ix. 5.

'Tis safer to be that which we destroy Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy. --Shak.

Destruction of venerable establishment. --Hallam.

2. The state of being destroyed, demolished, ruined, slain, or devastated.

This town came to destruction. --Chaucer.

Thou castedst them down into destruction. --Ps. lxxiii. 18.

2. A destroying agency; a cause of ruin or of devastation; a destroyer.

The destruction that wasteth at noonday. --Ps. xci. 6.

Syn: Demolition; subversion; overthrow; desolation; extirpation; extinction; devastation; downfall; extermination; havoc; ruin.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : destruction
Spanish: destrucción,
German: die Zerstörung,
Japanese: 破壊
More Translations »

destruction 
c.1314, from L. destructionem, from stem of destruere "tear down" (see destroy). Destruct "to destroy" is a back-formation of destruction; O.E.D. cites an isolated use from 1638; modern usage is aero-space jargon first recorded 1958 in reference to aborted rocket flights; popularized 1966 in form self-destruct in the voice-over at the beginning of popular TV spy drama "Mission Impossible."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Destruction

in Job 26:6, 28:22 (Heb. abaddon) is sheol, the realm of the dead.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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