DESTRUCTION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does destruction mean? 

• DESTRUCTION (noun)
  The noun DESTRUCTION has 3 senses:

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

  Familiarity information: DESTRUCTION used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DESTRUCTION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired or no longer exists

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

destruction; devastation

Hypernyms ("destruction" is a kind of...):

conclusion; ending; termination (the act of ending something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "destruction"):

kill (the destruction of an enemy plane or ship or tank or missile)

hooliganism; malicious mischief; vandalism (willful wanton and malicious destruction of the property of others)

spoliation ((law) the intentional destruction of a document or an alteration of it that destroys its value as evidence)

demolition (the act of demolishing)

holocaust (an act of mass destruction and loss of life (especially in war or by fire))

extermination; liquidation (the act of exterminating)

sabotage (a deliberate act of destruction or disruption in which equipment is damaged)

neutralisation; neutralization ((euphemism) the removal of a threat by killing or destroying it (especially in a covert operation or military operation))

self-destruction (the act of destroying yourself)

decimation (destroying or killing a large part of the population (literally every tenth person as chosen by lot))

annihilation; obliteration (destruction by annihilating something)

demolishing; leveling; razing; tearing down (complete destruction of a building)

laying waste; ruin; ruination; ruining; wrecking (destruction achieved by causing something to be wrecked or ruined)

disaster (an act that has disastrous consequences)

Derivation:

destroy (destroy completely; damage irreparably)

destroy (do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An event (or the result of an event) that completely destroys something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

demolition; destruction; wipeout

Hypernyms ("destruction" is a kind of...):

conclusion; ending; finish (event whose occurrence ends something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "destruction"):

annihilation; disintegration (total destruction)

eradication; obliteration (the complete destruction of every trace of something)

depredation; ravage ((usually plural) a destructive action)

razing; wrecking (the event of a structure being completely demolished and leveled)

ruin; ruination (an event that results in destruction)

rack; wrack (the destruction or collapse of something)

Derivation:

destroy (destroy completely; damage irreparably)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A final state

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

death; destruction; end

Context example:

the so-called glorious experiment came to an inglorious end

Hypernyms ("destruction" is a kind of...):

state (the way something is with respect to its main attributes)

 Context examples 

Then infection leads to the destruction of skin and large, open ulcers on arms or legs.

(New answer to MRSA, other 'superbug' infections: clay minerals?, NSF)

Removal or destruction of the testicles or ovaries using radiation, surgery, or drugs.

(Castration, NCI Dictionary)

Within 48 hours of βGBP treatment, 'cell stress' and 'evidence' of destruction had 'fully manifest'.

(Molecule in Immune System Able to Trigger 'Suicide' of Cancerous Tumors, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Once secreted, C3 lands on dead photoreceptors labeling them for destruction and removal.

(Immune system can slow degenerative eye disease, National Institutes of Health)

Short stretches of genetic material from bacteriophages (viruses that attack bacteria) and plasmids (pieces of DNA exchanged between bacteria) are incorporated into the system to detect targets for destruction in the future.

(Novel Approach Gives Insights Into Tumor Development, NIH)

Issues associated with a discoloration or destruction as a result of thermal decomposition of the device or its components.

(Burned Medical Device or Device Component, Food and Drug Administration)

Researchers were surprised to find that the radiation resulted in net growth, rather than destruction.

(“Kitchen Smoke” Molecules in Nebula Offer Clues to the Building Blocks of Life, NASA)

The protein adipsin, which is produced in body fat, helps protect insulin-secreting cells called pancreatic beta cells from destruction in type 2 diabetes, according to a new study by researchers.

(New Potential Approach Found to Type 2 Diabetes Treatment, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Blockade of this enzyme induces cells to activate a different route for phospholipid production which causes a toxic effect and eventually leads to cell destruction.

(Choline Kinase Alpha Inhibitor TCD-717, NCI Thesaurus)

This allele, which encodes neprilysin protein, plays a role in the destruction of polypeptides containing up to 30 amino acids.

(MME wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)