The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - destroy v.

1) demolish, tear or pull down, raze, wipe out, ravage, wreck, smash, ruin, break up or down, annihilate, crush, eradicate, extirpate, exterminate, devastate, commit mayhem, lay waste, vandalize, Slang US trash: The invading hordes destroyed everything, leaving desolation in their wake. The storm destroyed fifty houses. 2) ruin, do away with, end, make an end 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.