Synonyms of destroying

destroying

verb

present participle of destroy

1

as in ruining

to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of

they practically destroyed the safe in order to get at the money inside

their poor scores on the final exam destroyed any chance they might have had to pass the course

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ruining
• wrecking
• demolishing
• shattering
• devastating
• smashing
• damaging
• wasting
• overcoming
• eroding
• extinguishing
• annihilating
• decimating
• marring
• dismantling
• crippling
• razing
• killing
• vaporizing
• ravaging
• pulverizing
• removing
• crushing
• defeating
• blasting
• totaling
• breaking
• injuring
• nuking
• subduing
• wracking
• tearing down
• creaming
• pulling down
• doing in
• conquering
• harming
• disintegrating
• spoiling
• desolating
• impairing
• eradicating
• deteriorating
• trimming
• mutilating
• licking
• dissolving
• mastering
• rubbing out
• obliterating
• defacing
• surmounting
• clobbering
• assassinating
• dynamiting
• whipping
• vandalizing
• prevailing (over)
• slaughtering
• disfiguring
• winning (against)
• undoing
• routing
• murdering
• plundering
• beating
• mangling
• exterminating
• scouring
• gutting
• vitiating
• besting
• thrashing
• wearing (away)
• disassembling
• triumphing (over)
• sweeping (away)
• sacking
• liquidating
• despoiling
• expunging
• extirpating
• looting
• trampling
• executing
• trashing
• walloping
• massacring
• pillaging
• effacing
• blowing up
• trouncing
• slaying
• wiping out
• overmatching
• washing out
• scotching
• dispatching
• taking down
• zapping
• overbearing
• butchering
• unmaking
• cutting down
• stamping (out)
• blotting out
• dilapidating
• drubbing
• rooting (out)
• unbuilding
• killing off
• felling
• snuffing (out)
• taking out
• mowing (down)
• skunking
• havocking

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• building
• constructing
• creating
• raising
• repairing
• erecting
• fixing
• rearing
• producing
• setting up
• making
• forming
• putting up
• establishing
• inventing
• shaping
• manufacturing
• assembling
• protecting
• forging
• preserving
• organizing
• saving
• framing
• fashioning
• constituting
• molding
• revamping
• fabricating
• patching
• reconditioning
• restoring
• mending
• instituting
• conserving
• bringing about
• doctoring
• founding
• rebuilding
• reconstructing
• remodeling
• fathering
• renovating

2

as in ravaging

to bring destruction to (something) through violent action

wildfires destroyed thousands of acres in forests across the state

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ravaging
• devastating
• ruining
• wrecking
• plundering
• obliterating
• eradicating
• shattering
• scourging
• stripping
• despoiling
• looting
• demolishing
• pillaging
• sacking
• annihilating
• extinguishing
• vaporizing
• decimating
• marauding
• wasting
• smashing
• expunging
• extirpating
• harrying
• wiping out
• totaling
• overwhelming
• razing
• nuking
• wracking
• mowing
• overthrowing
• desolating
• overrunning
• foraying
• overpowering
• crushing
• rubbing out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• restoring
• recovering
• rehabilitating
• repairing
• fixing
• redeeming
• reconditioning
• mending
• patching
• revamping

3

as in killing

to deprive of life

regrettably, the veterinarian was forced to destroy the injured horse

Synonyms & Similar Words

• killing
• slaying
• taking
• murdering
• dispatching
• claiming
• slaughtering
• felling
• carrying off
• doing away with
• assassinating
• doing for
• neutralizing
• doing in
• croaking
• wasting
• annihilating
• decimating
• finishing
• massacring
• snuffing
• making away with
• butchering
• cutting down
• whacking
• executing
• smiting
• mowing
• terminating
• getting
• offing
• taking out
• killing off
• putting away
• rubbing out
• blotting out
• knocking off
• icing
• bumping off
• scragging
• martyring
• euthanizing
• putting down
• suiciding

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• restoring
• animating
• raising
• reviving
• resurrecting
• nurturing
• resuscitating

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of destroying

Sign up for the newsletter When the rain does fall, Kabul’s hard, impermeable surfaces mean the water doesn’t replenish aquifers, but instead sweeps through the city as flash floods, destroying homes, killing people and rolling away. — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026

Space debris is generated not only by kinetic space weapons but also when satellites collide and get smashed into countless fragments and smaller particles that travel at high velocity and are capable of destroying or damaging more spacecraft. — ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026

Phillips was questioned and has since been charged with felony destruction of a body/concealment of a death, and felony altering/destroying criminal evidence, the sheriff’s office said. — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 5 Oct. 2026

Complicating matters is the fact that older sets of remains are often incomplete and/or modified for preservation, destroying vital forensic information in the process. — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 5 Oct. 2026

Using it, robots can practise movements, encounter synthetic hazards and fail without destroying costly hardware. — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2026

Elephants can be extremely destructive and dangerous, and several African countries must confront the problem of elephant herds destroying farmers’ crops and infrastructure as well as killing or injuring people. — Sello Motseta, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026

As City supporters’ shock and confusion inevitably turns into anger, that should be directed at the right people, those responsible for this mess, and for destroying the reputation of the club in the process. — Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2026

When Washington empowered that campaign, the Continental Congress earmarked $932,743 to be spent destroying you. — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 29 Sep. 2026