Meanings
present singular third person destructs · participle present destructing · participle past destructed · past destructed
- nonstandardtransitiveTo intentionally cause the destruction of.
1 more example
Now the world which periſhed by water was no other than the ſublunary world; the Heaven whereof is that which we call Ayre, but the Scripture Heaven, which ſublunary heaven, together with the earth, was marred by that generall deluge; and the creatures belonging to them both either wholly deſtructed, or marvellouſly corrupted from that they were before: […]
a. 1639, Ioseph Mede, “How This Conflagration of the World, whereof S. Peter Speaks, and Especially of the Heavens, Is to Be Understood”, in A Paraphrase and Exposition of the Prophesie of Saint Peter, Concerning the Day of Christs Second Comming; […], London: […] R[ichard] Bishop, for Samuel Man, […], published 1642, →OCLC, pages 12–13Synonyms: destroy
- transitivecomputingTo invoke the destructor of.
- intransitiveTo self-destruct.
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo intentionally cause the destruction of.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latindēstrūct-
- Englishdestruct
Originally a learned borrowing from Latin dēstrūct-, the perfect passive participial stem of dēstruō (“to destroy”). In modern use, probably in part a back-formation from destruction.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian разруша́вам
- разруша́вам (razrušávam)to cause the destruction of
Dutch vernietigen, slopen
- vernietigento cause the destruction of
- slopento cause the destruction of
Finnish tuhota
- tuhotato cause the destruction of
German zerstören
- zerstörento cause the destruction of
Italian distruggere
- distruggereto cause the destruction of
Romanian distruge
- distrugeto cause the destruction of
Russian разруша́ть
- разруша́ть (razrušátʹ)to cause the destruction of
Swedish förstöra
- förstörato cause the destruction of
Turkish yıkmak
- yıkmakto cause the destruction of
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with destruct
Cite this entry
destruct. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/destruct
“destruct.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/destruct. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “destruct,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/destruct.
Source: destruct on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.