destructive
adjectiveattested in dialogue
- Canada//dɪˈstɹʌktɪv//
- Australia//dɪˈstɹɐktɪv//
- New Zealand//dəˈstɹɐktəv//
- Ireland//dɪˈstɹʊktɪv//
Causing destruction; damaging.
adjective
- 1
Causing destruction; damaging.
The pastures are filled with gay political drop-outs, persons of reasonable intent who found the scene personally destructive.
After rescuing his estranged daughter in the last film, Live Free Or Die Hard, Willis heads to Russia to rescue his estranged son (Jai Courtney), a CIA agent on a mission to protect a whistleblower (Sebastian Koch) from a corrupt government official (Sergei Kolesnikov) with no shortage of destructive resources at his disposal.
- 2
Causing breakdown or disassembly.
Catabolism is a destructive metabolism that involves the breakdown of molecules and release of energy.
- 3
Lossy; causing irreversible change.
Blurring an image is a destructive operation, but rotating an image is not.
Etymology
From Middle English destructyve, from Middle French destructif, from Latin dēstrūctīvus, from past participle of dēstruere (“to tear down, destroy”) + -īvus.
Forms
- comparative
- more destructive
- superlative
- most destructive
destructive · Causing destruction; damaging.
detached · Not physically attached; separated from something to which it…detachment · The action of detaching; separation.detail · A part small enough to escape casual notice.