frequently_asked_questions_files/Oxford Thesaurus.pdf

of, bring to an end, bring or put an end to, terminate, finish,
kill: Realizing what he had done, he destroyed himself. The
trial destroyed his career. 3 counteract, neutralize, nullify,
annul, cancel (out), reverse; stop, interfere with: Caught
embezzling, Martin destroyed everything he had worked for.
Sunspot activity destroyed radio transmission this week. 4
disprove, refute, confute, deny, contradict, negate, overturn,
overthrow, ruin, spoil, undermine, weaken, enfeeble, devitalize,
exhaust, disable, cripple: By pointing out just one flaw, she
destroyed his entire argument.
destruction
n. 1 demolition, razing, wrecking, ruin, ruining, ruination,
breaking up or down, mayhem, havoc, annihilation, devastation,
tearing or knocking down, laying waste, ravagement; rack and
ruin, Colloq wiping out: The destruction of the city took place
in 1942. 2 slaughter, annihilation, killing, eradication,
murder, extermination, holocaust, liquidation, massacre,
extinction, genocide, assassination, slaying, putting to death,
putting an end to, making an end of, doing away with, putting
away, Colloq doing in, wiping out; Slang US rubbing out,
rub-out: They were bent on the destruction of an entire people.
3 undoing, end, ruin, ruination, downfall, termination, breakup,
breakdown, collapse: The imprisonment of the bosses spelt the
destruction of the entire crime network.
destructive
adj. 1 harmful, injurious, baneful, pernicious, dangerous,
hurtful, toxic, poisonous, virulent, noxious, bad, malignant,
baleful, unwholesome, damaging, detrimental, deleterious,
devastating; deadly, fatal, lethal, fell, killing, internecine:
The spray keeps away insects but is destructive of the plant
life. 2 negative, adverse, opposing, opposed, contrary,
contradictory, antithetical, conflicting, unfavourable,
condemnatory, derogatory, disparaging, disapproving, critical:
The playwrights feared and disliked him because of his
destructive criticism.
desultory adj. shifting, devious, unsteady, irregular, wavering,
inconstant, fitful, spasmodic, unmethodical, disconnected,
unsystematic, disorderly, disordered, unorganized, disorganized,
inconsistent, random, haphazard, chaotic, erratic, shifty: He
made no more than a desultory effort to stop smoking. The