destructive
Prone to wreckage
Destructive describes something that causes destruction—damage, ruin, or harm.
A destructive storm levels buildings.
Destructive criticism tears down without building up.
The word applies to physical damage (destructive force) and abstract harm (destructive behavior in relationships).
What's destructive undoes, dismantles, or devastates rather than creates or preserves.
Sudden ruinous event
- calamitySevere misfortune or disaster
- devastationSevere widespread destruction
- apocalypticPertaining to ultimate devastation
- cataclysmicViolently destructive in scale
ruinous · tsunami · earthquake · hurricane · tornado · typhoon · wildfire · flood
Destroy all traces of
- demolishDestroy completely
- devastateDestroy thoroughly and completely
- decimateDestroy a large portion
- razeDestroy completely
pulverize · disintegrate · dismantle · wipeout · eradicate · exterminate · eliminate · extinguish
Causing loss or injury
- injuriousCausing physical harm
- detrimentalCausing harm or damage
- deleteriousCausing harm or damage
- perniciousGradually and subtly harmful
noxious · toxic · poisonous · baneful · malignant · ruinous · hurtful · crippling
Destroyed remains of something
- carnageWidespread violent death
- chaosComplete disorder and confusion
- mayhemViolent disorder and destruction
- turmoilViolent disturbance or confusion
upheaval · vandalism · sabotage · rampage · pillaging · plunder · looting · desecration
Prone to sudden detonation
- unstableProne to sudden change
- combustibleCapable of burning
- flammableProne to ignition
- incendiaryCausing or designed for burning
detonating · eruptive · reactive · inflammable · ignitable · blasting · bursting · shattering
Causing or capable of death
- fatalCausing death or ruin
- killingCausing death deliberately
- murderousInclined to kill
- mortalSubject to death
death-dealing · homicidal · slaughterous · annihilating · exterminatory · genocidal · brutal · savage
Aggressively unfriendly
- belligerentHostile and eager to clash
- bellicoseInclined toward aggression
- warlikeDisposed toward armed conflict
- militantAggressive cause supporter
combative · antagonistic · pugnacious · confrontational · militaristic · hawkish · threatening · attacking
disaster
Sudden ruinous event
- calamitySevere misfortune or disaster
- devastationSevere widespread destruction
- apocalypticPertaining to ultimate devastation
cataclysmic · ruinous · tsunami · earthquake · hurricane · tornado · typhoon · wildfire · flood · landslide
obliterate
Destroy all traces of
raze · pulverize · disintegrate · dismantle · wipeout · eradicate · exterminate · eliminate · extinguish · uproot
damaging
Causing loss or injury
- injuriousCausing physical harm
- detrimentalCausing harm or damage
- deleteriousCausing harm or damage
pernicious · noxious · toxic · poisonous · baneful · malignant · ruinous · hurtful · crippling · debilitating
wreckage
Destroyed remains of something
- carnageWidespread violent death
- chaosComplete disorder and confusion
- mayhemViolent disorder and destruction
turmoil · upheaval · vandalism · sabotage · rampage · pillaging · plunder · looting · desecration · defacement
explosive
Prone to sudden detonation
- unstableProne to sudden change
- combustibleCapable of burning
- flammableProne to ignition
incendiary · detonating · eruptive · reactive · inflammable · ignitable · blasting · bursting · shattering · fragmenting
lethal
Causing or capable of death
mortal · death-dealing · homicidal · slaughterous · annihilating · exterminatory · genocidal · brutal · savage · violent
hostile
Aggressively unfriendly
- belligerentHostile and eager to clash
- bellicoseInclined toward aggression
- warlikeDisposed toward armed conflict
militant · combative · antagonistic · pugnacious · confrontational · militaristic · hawkish · threatening · attacking · provocative
erosive
Causing gradual wearing away
etching · pitting · tarnishing · corroding · rusting · degrading · dissolving · wearing · abrasive · weathering
- criticism typesconstructive, literary, art criticism, film criticism, music criticism
- Mercalli Scalefeeble, slight, moderate, strong, ruinous
- behaviorshabit, aggressive, agitation, conduct, passive
- volcano wordsactive, dormant, extinct, molten, eruptive
- erosion typesabrasive, weathering, scouring, leaching, attrition
- feedbackcomment, comments, constructive, complaint, reviews
destructivepreservative
Agent preventing spoilage
protective · conserving · preserving · safeguarding · nondestructive
destructiveconstructive
Promoting positive development
creative · productive · building · generative · formative
- total destructionComplete and utter ruin
- mass destructionLarge-scale total ruin
- path of destructionRoute marked by ruin
- weapons of mass destructionArms causing widespread casualties
- self-destructive behavior
- habitat destructionEliminating natural living spaces
destruction, indestructible, destructively, destructiveness, destructible, self-destruction, destructions, nondestructive, destructibility