Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Causing or wreaking destruction; ruinous: a destructive act; a policy that is destructive to the economy.
- adj. Designed or tending to disprove or discredit: destructive criticism.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Causing destruction; having a tendency to destroy or the quality of destroying; ruinous; mischievous; pernicious; hurtful: with of or to before an object: as, a destructive fire; a destructive disposition; intemperance is destructive of health; evil examples are destructive to the morals of youth.
- In logic, refuting; disproving: as, a destructive dilemma.
- n. One who or that which destroys; one who favors the destruction of anything for some ulterior purpose, as progress or public convenience; an overthrower of existing institutions, customs, or the like.
Wiktionary
- adj. Causing destruction; damaging.
- adj. Causing break down or disassembly.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Causing destruction; tending to bring about ruin, death, or devastation; ruinous; fatal; productive of serious evil; mischievous; pernicious; -- often with
of orto - n. One who destroys; a radical reformer; a destructionist.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. causing destruction or much damage
Examples
“Competition is a word destructive to successful Yoga practice.”
Simon & Schuster: American Yoga Association Beginner’s Manual Fully Revised and Updated
“Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said any slackness in the global response to the floods may give extremists an opportunity to promote what he described as their destructive agenda.”
“Saturday to withstand what it called the destructive effects of affirmative action, the Boerevolk Werkersunie disclosed on”
“Everybody has been pleased and amused, except the two clergymen who are here, and who have begun a course of sermons against what they call a destructive torrent of worldly gaiety.”
“No wonder he hates what he calls destructive criticism, sometimes called by free spirits the elimination of buncombe.”
“Why I Still Remain in the Provinces" was an anti-urban philippic, warning that cities exposed thinkers to what he called "destructive error".”
“Gingrich blasted what he called the "destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media" after the matter came up in the debate.”
“He said they were untrue, and Gingrich blasted what he called the "destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media.”
“Iraq and what they call the destructive policies of the US Government.”
WN.com - Articles related to Pentagon asks FBI to probe leak
“In it Josh Stieber and Ethan McCord apologise for the attack on the van and more broadly for the war in Iraq and what they call the destructive policies of the US”
WN.com - Articles related to Pentagon asks FBI to probe leak
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