destructive

CEFRB1

/dɪˈstɹʌktɪv/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Causing serious damage or harm.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Causing breakdown or disassembly.

Examples

  • The war demonstrated the destructive power of modern weapons.

  • Small children can be very destructive.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
2
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Lossy; causing irreversible change.

  2. Causing destruction; damaging.

More examples

In context

  • Suspicion is destructive of friendship.

  • Blurring an image is a destructive operation, but rotating an image is not.

  • Catabolism is a destructive metabolism that involves the breakdown of molecules and release of energy.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The blank storm demolished buildings and uprooted trees across the region.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle English destructyve, from Middle French destructif, from Latin dēstrūctīvus, from past participle of dēstruere (“to tear down, destroy”) + -īvus.