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Destruction
5 dictionary results for: destruction
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
de·struc·tion       [di-struhk-shuhn] Pronunciation Key
–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 déstructiōn- (s. of déstructiō), equiv. to déstruct(us) (ptp. of déstruere; see destroy) + -iōn- -ion]

—Synonyms 1. See ruin.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
de·struc·tion       (dĭ-strŭk'shən)  Pronunciation Key 
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.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
destruction

noun
1. the termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired or no longer exists 
2. an event (or the result of an event) that completely destroys something 
3. a final state; "he came to a bad end"; "the so-called glorious experiment came to an inglorious end" [syn: end] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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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