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destroy

de·stroy [ di stróy ] (past and past participle de·stroyed, present participle de·stroy·ing, 3rd person present singular de·stroys)


verb 
Definition:
 
1. transitive and intransitive verb demolish: to demolish something or reduce something to fragments

2. transitive and intransitive verb ruin: to ruin something or make something useless

3. transitive and intransitive verb abolish: to abolish, rescind, or end something

4. transitive verb defeat somebody: to defeat somebody in a crushing way

5. transitive verb kill animal: to kill something or somebody, especially an animal ( usually passive )
Afterward, the dog could not be cured and so had to be destroyed.

[12th century. Via Old French destruire< Latin destruere "undo results of building" < struere "build"]

de·stroy·a·ble adjective

Word Usage
Risk of redundancy

: Like the qualities described by adjectives such as unique and crucial, the actions that many verbs signify do not occur by degrees. Ones having to do with destruction are cases in point. A house, for example, cannot be slightly destroyed,a little bit ruined, or moderately demolished. Either it has been destroyed, demolished, or ruined or it hasn't. (Partly destroy and partly demolish are special cases, in that they signify the destruction of a part of something, not the damaging of all of it.) Although it is common to see expressions like completely destroyed and totally demolished used for emphasis, the adverb is strictly speaking redundant.

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