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Synonyms: Destroy

Ignite your writing with the power to obliterate obstacles, shatter barriers, and leave a trail of literary devastation in your wake with this list of synonyms for destroy.
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Full list of words from this list:

  1. annihilate
    do away with completely, without leaving a trace
    You wish you could annihilate some memories, too, but you can’t do that, either. A Heart in a Body in the World
  2. blast
    shatter as if by explosion
    Deviations in arc of a hundredth of a milli-second—invisible to the eye—were enough to send the beam wildly out of focus—enough to blast hundreds of square miles of Earth into incandescent ruin. I, Robot
  3. blemish
    mar or spoil the appearance of
    Vacant storefronts still blemish some of the historic district’s 40 square blocks, but thanks to plucky restaurateurs, gallery owners and shopkeepers, there’s a scent of promise mingling with the magnolias. The New York Times
  4. blight
    have a negative or detrimental effect on
    Alyce began to watch the man, not knowing he had long watched her and wondered what could so blight a person so young. The Midwife's Apprentice
  5. butcher
    make a mess of, destroy or ruin
    “After the planes attack, they will be combing the area house by house. Word is that they will butcher every living thing they find.” Tasting the Sky
  6. clobber
    strike violently and repeatedly
    Dinosaurs slice each other with sinister claws, gore each other with pointed horns and clobber each other with clubbed tails. The New York Times
  7. crash
    collide and undergo damage or destruction on impact
    The wall of molasses crashed into the firehouse, knocking it completely off its foundation. 1919 The Year That Changed America
  8. crush
    compress with force, out of natural shape or condition
    Miig crushed the tins as small as they could go so we could bury them along with our other minimal garbage by the latrine. The Marrow Thieves
  9. damage
    inflict harm upon
    For a number of years California rice growers have been treating seed with DDT as protection against tadpole shrimp and scavenger beetles which sometimes damage seedling rice. Silent Spring
  10. dash
    break into pieces, as by striking or knocking over
    They avoided the engine, though some were drawn into it and dashed to pieces by the slicing propellers. The Subtle Knife
  11. decimate
    kill in large numbers
    Our own hoverplanes were grounded after the Capitol’s antiaircraft missiles decimated the first few waves. Mockingjay
  12. deface
    mar or spoil the appearance of
    He also told me that the first map he defaced was a map of the state. Challenger Deep
  13. demolish
    destroy completely
    A giant monstrous arm swung back and demolished the walls to the parson’s bedrooms. A Monster Calls
  14. devastate
    cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly
    As if to confirm people’s biblical fears, the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Lisbon in 1755 struck on 1 November: All Saints’ Day. The Story of Music
  15. disfigure
    mar or spoil the appearance of
    Princess Shireen was curled up in a window seat, her hood drawn up to hide the worst of the greyscale that had disfigured her face. A Dance with Dragons
  16. dismantle
    tear down so as to make flat with the ground
    A few years before, Dad had been hired by Utah Power to dismantle hundreds of utility towers. Educated
  17. disrupt
    throw into disorder
    The mourning depressed Mama something terrible and disrupted our lives. Bad Boy
  18. dynamite
    blow up with an explosive
    On May 11, 1906, the wrecking company dynamited the wheel, for scrap. The Devil in the White City
  19. eliminate
    end, take out, or do away with
    In contrast, man has put the vast majority of carcinogens into the environment, and he can, if he wishes, eliminate many of them. Silent Spring
  20. eradicate
    destroy completely, as if down to the roots
    I want to eradicate the violence that is going on in my neighborhood and give back to my community the way John Tu has given back to me. The Freedom Writers Diary
  21. explode
    burst outward, usually with noise
    The beach was only a few hundred yards away when the sphere turned lava-hot and the helicopter exploded, shooting flames in every direction. The House of Hades
  22. exterminate
    destroy completely, as if down to the roots
    Empires with steel weapons were able to conquer or exterminate tribes with weapons of stone and wood. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
  23. extinguish
    put an end to by crushing
    The two aims of the Party are to conquer the whole surface of the earth and to extinguish once and for all the possibility of independent thought. 1984
  24. extirpate
    destroy completely, as if down to the roots
    Or perhaps those cells are able to only suppress the leukemia cells, not extirpate them. The Washington Post
  25. impair
    make worse or less effective
    In the earlier discussion, however, I was referring to things that impair our ability to solve problems. Blink
  26. injure
    cause damage or affect negatively
    I stayed up nursing my pride, the only thing I really injured. Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky
  27. level
    tear down so as to make flat with the ground
    If an earthquake levels a city, people all over the world will send emergency supplies. The Martian
  28. liquidate
    get rid of by killing
    “They said they will liquidate the ghetto only if we do not come out. By hiding, we seal our death warrant,” Moshe said. Prisoner B-3087
  29. mar
    destroy or injure severely
    Unlike the muddy tracks that passed for roads in the Seven Kingdoms, the Valyrian roads were wide enough for three wagons to pass abreast, and neither time nor traffic marred them. A Dance with Dragons
  30. massacre
    kill a large number of people indiscriminately
    He tells me how he heard that the Spanish came and massacred all of the French settlers—men, women, and children. Blood on the River
  31. murder
    kill intentionally and with premeditation
    "The Starks do not murder men in their beds." A Game of Thrones
  32. obliterate
    do away with completely, without leaving a trace
    With his one hand it would be possible in seconds to squeeze Hatsue’s letter into motes of dust and obliterate its message forever. Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel
  33. overwhelm
    overcome by superior force
    She fell backward in terror and almost got overwhelmed by the spider robots before I pulled her up and dragged her back toward the boat. The Lightning Thief
  34. pulverize
    destroy completely
    The shelling knocked down power lines, pulverized entire blocks of shops and homes. A Thousand Splendid Suns
  35. quash
    put down by force or intimidation
    Colonial governments, and later the United States, frequently deployed rangers to quash Indigenous resistance and displace Indigenous nations. An Indigenous People’s History of the United States
  36. quell
    suppress or crush completely
    Other banks came to Nebraska Savings’ rescue, and the so-called “children’s run” was quelled. The Devil in the White City
  37. ravage
    cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly
    The entire sky garden was beyond recognition, burned and charred as though an unseen force had ravaged every iota of life there. Beasts of Prey
  38. raze
    tear down so as to make flat with the ground
    A catastrophic earthquake razed Cahokia in the beginning of the thirteenth century, knocking down the entire western side of Monks Mound. 1491
  39. rout
    defeat with dire consequences
    Twice, I saw Twenty-One take on six attacking wolves from a rival pack — and rout them all,” Rick recalls. Salon
  40. ruin
    destroy completely; damage irreparably
    Losing a child ruins many a marriage; he could not bear to live without Emma. Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith
  41. sabotage
    destroy property or hinder normal operations
    Called “werewolves,” the young commandos sabotaged army vehicles, pouring sand into gas tanks. Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow
  42. scar
    mark with an indication of damage
    “Take my word for it, jail scars the soul. And I was never able to help those I hurt.” Touching Spirit Bear
  43. shatter
    damage or destroy
    A cannonball shattered a tree right in front of them. I Survived the American Revolution, 1776
  44. slaughter
    kill a large number of people indiscriminately
    Victims of vicious anti-Semitism, thousands of Jews were slaughtered in massacres called pogroms. 1919 The Year That Changed America
  45. smash
    damage or destroy as if by violence
    "When the axes smash down those doors, you may be glad of him." A Clash of Kings
  46. spoil
    make a mess of, destroy or ruin
    Do not spoil everything for me, she wanted to say, do not take away my chance. I'm the King of the Castle
  47. terminate
    bring to an end or halt
    Aside from a formal plea to the jury, which would not take place until the morrow, the psychiatrist’s testimony terminated Hickock’s planned defense. In Cold Blood
  48. thrash
    beat thoroughly and conclusively in a competition or fight
    The British thrashed the Patriots in a big battle in Brooklyn. Chains
  49. torpedo
    attack or hit with self-propelled underwater projectiles
    And they would torpedo those ships without first providing for the safety of passengers and crew, in violation of international agreements concerning naval warfare. The War to End All Wars: World War I
  50. trounce
    defeat in a competition, race, or conflict
    It was the same expression she wore when she had thoroughly trounced me in checkers. Jacob Have I Loved
  51. upset
    defeat suddenly and unexpectedly
    The United States was upset in the group stage of the tournament by a 2-0 loss to Mexico — just the second loss in the 43-game series. The Seattle Times
  52. vanquish
    defeat in a competition, race, or conflict
    Each enemy I vanquished dropped a pile of “Zenny coins” that I could later use to purchase armor, weapons, and potions from one of the bearded wise men scattered throughout each level. Ready Player One: A Novel
  53. vitiate
    make imperfect
    Before long, the extra demands vitiated the entire platoon, all of whom began to fall prey to heat stress. The Guardian
  54. waste
    cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly
    “Surely Earth Mother is offended that the Ugly One would place seeds into her. They won’t grow! Don’t waste our precious kernels by contaminating them with your hand!”The Ugly One
  55. whip
    defeat thoroughly
    The Huskies whipped the Zags in the Elite Eight, but this was one of Gonzaga’s mortal teams compared to the top-seeded rosters they have put together in recent years. The Washington Post
  56. wipe out
    eliminate completely and without a trace
    Tutsis then used their control of the military to wipe out whole villages of Hutus. Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference
  57. wreck
    smash or break forcefully
    “First time I’d ever seen a captain wreck his own boat,” she said. Beyond the Bright Sea
Created on Mon Apr 15 13:46:58 EDT 2024 (updated Fri Jan 31 15:20:34 EST 2025)

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