destructive
- 1Able to cause great damage or harm to people or things.
Like a strong wind that breaks everything in its path.
The destructive storm tore the roof off several houses.
Fire can be very destructive when it spreads quickly.
Similardamaging, harmful, ruinous, devastating, detrimental
Oppositeconstructive, beneficial, harmless
Note
- 2Causing something to break apart or fall to pieces.
Digestion is a destructive process that breaks food down into tiny parts your body can use.
The repair shop used a destructive method and took the old phone apart piece by piece.
Similarcatabolic
Oppositeanabolic, constructive
Note
- 3Changing data or material in a way that cannot be undone.
Like erasing a pencil mark instead of writing over it lightly: the first version is gone for good.
Saving the photo this way is destructive, so the original detail is lost.
A destructive edit removes information you can never get back.
Similarirreversible, lossy
Oppositenondestructive, lossless, reversible
Note
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of destructive apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
From Latin, from a word meaning "to tear down, destroy," reaching English through French.