DESTROY1 to destroy an area or place2 to deliberately destroy a building3 to completely destroy a vehicle4 to destroy someone's relationships, hopes, happiness etc5 likely to destroy something6 when something is destroyed7 a place or thing that is destroyedRELATED WORDSto gradually be destroyed by a natural process 在自然过程中被逐渐破坏DECAYsee alsoDAMAGEEXPLODESPOILDISASTERBREAKBROKEN/NOT BROKEN1 to destroy an area or place 摧毁一个地区或地方destroy /dɪˈstrɔɪ/ [transitive verb]to damage something so badly that it cannot be repaired 破坏，毁灭，摧毁 The earthquake destroyed much of the city. 这次地震破坏了城市的许多地方。 In Brazil the rainforests are gradually being destroyed. 巴西的热带雨林被逐渐破坏。 The factory was almost completely destroyed by fire. 这家工厂几乎被大火彻底烧毁了。devastate /ˈdevəsteɪt/ [transitive verb]to cause so much damage over a large area that most of the buildings, trees, and crops there are destroyed 严重破坏，蹂躏，摧毁〔大片地区〕 A huge explosion devastated the downtown area last night. 昨晚一次巨大的爆炸炸毁了市中心区。 The country has been devastated by floods. 该国遭洪水蹂躏。 Years of war have devastated this island nation. 连年的战争摧毁了这个岛国。wreck /rek/ [transitive verb]to deliberately damage a building or room very badly 蓄意破坏，摧毁，毁坏〔建筑物或房间〕 He came home drunk again, threatening to wreck the apartment. 他又一次醉醺醺地回家，并威胁要把公寓砸烂。 Bulldozers were brought in to wreck the tents and shacks that protesters had put up. 推土机奉召来毁掉抗议者搭建的帐篷和棚屋。be flattened /biː ˈflætnd/ [verb phrase]if an area such as a town or forestis flattened all the buildings or trees there are destroyed by bombs, storms etc 〔城镇、森林等〕被〔炸弹、风暴等〕摧毁；被夷平 It will cost $400 million to rebuild the houses that were flattened in the fighting. 重建这场战斗中被毁的房屋要花费四亿美元。be flattened by Thousands of miles of woodland were flattened by storms last month. 上个月的风暴夷平了数千英里的林地。obliterate /əˈblɪtəreɪt/ [transitive verb]to destroy a place so completely that nothing remains, and it is difficult to see or imagine what was once there 把〔某个地方〕完全摧毁；把…破坏得面目全非 Entire sections of the city were obliterated by the repeated bombing. 反复的轰炸使该城市整块整块地区被夷为平地。 Frequent flooding eventually obliterated all traces of the community that used to live there. 频繁的洪水最终把人类在那儿居住过的痕迹破坏得一干二净。be ravaged by /biː ˈrævɪdʒd baɪ/ [verb phrase]if a place or an areais ravaged by war, fire etc, it is very badly damaged and a lot of it is destroyed - used especially in newspapers and news reports 遭到〔战争、火灾等的〕毁坏〔尤用于报章及新闻报道〕 The country has been ravaged by civil war for the last 10 years. 过去十年来这个国家一直饱受内战的蹂躏。 North Africa and the Middle East are regularly ravaged by plagues of locusts. 北非和中东地区常遭受蝗灾的袭扰。reduce something to rubble/ashes etc /rɪˌdjuːs something tə ˈrʌbəlǁrɪˌduːs-/ [verb phrase]to completely destroy a building 把某物夷为废墟/化为灰烬等 Their new two-storey house had been reduced to ashes in the fire. 他们新的两层楼房被火烧成灰烬。 We won't stand by while developers reduce the historic remains of the city to rubble. 开发商要把市内的历史遗迹毁为废墟，我们不会袖手旁观。trash /træʃ/ [transitive verb]informalto deliberately destroy a lot of the things in a room, house, etc 【非正式】捣毁，蓄意破坏〔室内、房内等的物品〕 Someone had broken in and trashed her apartment. 有人闯进来捣乱了她的公寓。 Band members have been accused of trashing their hotel rooms. 乐队成员被指控捣毁了旅馆房间。2 to deliberately destroy a building 有目的地拆毁建筑物demolish /dɪˈmɒlɪʃǁdɪˈmɑː-/ [transitive verb]to destroy a building using special equipment, because it is old or not safe 〔用特别设备〕拆毁，拆除〔旧或不安全的建筑物〕 Eventually, in 1997, the apartment block was demolished. 这公寓楼终于在1997年被拆毁了。 When they demolished the church, a cave was discovered beneath it. 他们拆掉教堂时，在它底下发现了一个洞穴。knock downalsopull downBritish /ˌnɒk ˈdaʊnǁˌnɑːk-, ˌpʊl ˈdaʊn/ [transitive phrasal verb]to deliberately destroy a building or wall because it is not now needed, not safe etc 拆掉，推倒〔建筑物或墙〕knock/pull down something If you knocked down this wall, the living room would be a lot bigger. 假如你拆掉这堵墙，起居室就大得多了。 She was brought up in a tatty little house that has since been pulled down. 她是在一间破陋的小屋里被抚养长大的，后来那屋被拆掉了。knock/pull something down They'll have to knock down these houses when they build the new road. 他们要修建这条新马路就得拆除这些房子。tear down /ˌteəʳ ˈdaʊn/ [transitive phrasal verb]to deliberately destroy a building or other structure, especially in order to put something else in its place - use this especially when you do not approve of this action 〔尤为了建其他建筑物而〕拆毁〔原有的建筑物，尤表示你不赞同这一做法〕tear down something We need laws to keep people from tearing down these beautiful old buildings. 我们需要法律来阻止人们把这些漂亮的老房子拆毁。tear something down I'll be really upset if they tear the old theater down. 如果他们拆了那座旧剧场，我会非常难受的。3 to completely destroy a vehicle 彻底毁坏车、船等wreck /rek/ [transitive verb]to damage a car, boat etc very badly in an accident so that it cannot be used again 撞毁，破坏〔车、船等〕 They had stolen a car and wrecked it on the freeway. 他们偷了一辆车，并在高速公路上把它撞毁了。 Glen drove right into a tree and wrecked his car. 格伦驾车撞上一棵树，把车撞毁了。wrecked [adjective] Wrecked vehicles lay abandoned at the roadside. 损毁的车辆被丢弃在路旁。write off /ˌraɪt ˈɒf/ [transitive phrasal verb]British/totalAmerican /ˈtəʊtl/ [transitive verb]to damage a vehicle, especially a car, so badly in an accident that it cannot be repaired or used again 使〔尤指汽车〕报废 I totaled my car in a blizzard once, and I won't drive in the snow anymore. 有一次我在暴风雪中把车撞毁了，从此我再也不在雪中开车。write off something/write something off She wrote her mother's car off the first time she drove it. 她第一次开母亲的车就把它报废了。4 to destroy someone's relationships, hopes, happiness etc 破坏某人的关系、希望、幸福等destroy /dɪˈstrɔɪ/ [transitive verb]todestroy someone's relationships, hopes, happiness etc 破坏，打破〔某人的关系、希望、幸福等〕 Even close relationships can be destroyed by alcoholism. 就是亲密无间的关系也会因酗酒而遭到破坏。 Few things destroy trust more than telling a friend's secrets. 没有比把朋友的秘密讲出去更能破坏信任了。 Chandler worried that the scandal would destroy his chances for a respectable career. 钱德勒担心这宗丑闻会毁了他从事体面职业的机会。wreck /rek/ [transitive verb]to completely destroy someone's relationships, hopes, chances etc, especially by doing or saying something without thinking of the likely results 破坏；打破〔某人的关系、希望、机会等，尤指对后果不加考虑的〕 Ron's affair wrecked our marriage. 罗恩的婚外恋毁了我们的婚姻。 His confrontational speech has wrecked any chances of a peace settlement. 他挑衅性的讲话毁掉了一切和平解决的机会。break somebody's spirit/resolve/will etc /ˌbreɪk somebodyˈs ˈspɪrt/ [verb phrase]to destroy someone's determination although they have tried hard to keep it 摧毁某人的精神/决心/意志等 Years in prison did not break Mr Mandela's spirit. 多年的牢狱生涯并未挫伤曼德拉先生的锐气。 Her captors used violence and psychological torture to try to break her will. 捉拿她的那些人使用暴力和心理折磨试图摧毁她的意志。ruin /ˈruːɪn, ˈruːən/ [transitive verb]to completely spoil or destroy someone's chances, hopes, relationship etc 彻底毁掉〔机会、希望、关系等〕 Phelps's mistake has ruined her chances of winning the championship. 费尔普斯的错误毁掉了她夺冠的机会。 Patty's ex-boyfriend is ruining our relationship. 帕蒂的前男友在破坏我们的关系。5 likely to destroy something 有可能破坏某物destructive /dɪˈstrʌktɪv/ [adjective]likely to destroy something or cause serious damage to it 破坏性的，毁灭性的 The border war has been wasteful and destructive. 边境上的战争毫无意义，且具破坏性。 The destructive side-effects of pesticides are now well known. 杀虫剂的破坏性副作用现已众所周知了。 Alcoholics often tend to have stormy and destructive relationships. 酗酒者通常与人的关系都冲动激烈，具有破坏性。devastating /ˈdevəsteɪtɪŋ/ [adjective]causing very serious damage to all the buildings, trees, crops etc in an area, so that they are almost completely destroyed 〔对区内所有建筑物、树木、庄稼等〕破坏性极大的，毁灭性的 The palace was rebuilt in 1832 after a devastating fire. 该宫殿被一场毁灭性大火焚毁后，于1832年重建。have a devastating effect The oil spill had a devastating effect on sea birds and other wildlife. 泄油事件对海鸟和其他野生生物造成了毁灭性的影响。6 when something is destroyed 某物遭破坏的情况destruction /dɪˈstrʌkʃən/ [uncountable noun]when something is destroyed 破坏，毁灭 The war caused widespread death and destruction. 这场战争导致了大规模的死亡和破坏。destruction of The destruction of forests for timber, fuel, and charcoal increased during the 18th century. 为获得木材、燃料和木炭而毁坏森林的情况在18世纪加剧了。devastation /ˌdevəˈsteɪʃən/ [uncountable noun]the result of an area being completely and violently destroyed 〔地区的〕毁灭，毁坏 Few buildings in the city had escaped devastation. 该市的建筑几乎无一幸免地遭到破坏。utter devastationcomplete devastation 彻底的破坏 The scene after the explosion was one of utter devastation. 爆炸过后的景象是百孔千疮。demolition /ˌdeməˈlɪʃən/ [uncountable noun]the deliberate destruction of a building, because it is in bad condition or in order to build a new one 拆毁〔因建筑物状况不好或为修建新的建筑物〕 The old factory will be knocked down by demolition experts. 拆房专家将拆毁这家旧工厂。demolition of Building the new freeway is going to mean the demolition of an entire housing complex. 修建这条新的高速公路将意味着要拆除整栋综合大楼。be/lie in ruins /biː, laɪ ɪn ˈruːnz/ [verb phrase]if a town or buildingis in ruins orlies in ruins, it has been completely destroyed 〔城镇或建筑物等〕成了一片废墟 After the war entire neighborhoods lay in ruins. 战后整个住宅区都成了废墟。leave something in ruins Four days and nights of continuous bombing had left the city in ruins. 四昼夜的连续轰炸将该城炸成了一片废墟。7 a place or thing that is destroyed 被毁坏的地方或东西wreckage /ˈrekɪdʒ/ [uncountable noun]the broken parts of a car, plane etc that has crashed 〔汽车、飞机等的〕残骸 Wreckage from the plane was scattered over a large area. 这架飞机的残骸碎片散落在很大一片地区。 Investigators are looking through pieces of the wreckage for any clues about the crash. 调查人员在残骸碎片中寻找失事的原因。ruins /ˈruːɪnz, ˈruːənz/ [plural noun]the parts of a building or town that remain after it has been destroyed 遗迹；废墟 The tour will visit ancient monasteries and Roman ruins in Merida. 这次旅程将游览梅里达的古修道院和古罗马遗址。ruins of Gunfire still echoed through the ruins of the city. 炮火仍在城市的断垣残壁间回响。wreck /rek/ [countable noun]a ship that has been sunk, or a car that has been very badly damaged in a crash 〔沉船、撞毁的汽车等的〕残骸 Divers went down to search the wreck. 潜水员下水去寻找残骸。 The car was a complete wreck, but the driver escaped with minor injuries. 这辆汽车彻底成了一堆残骸，但司机仅受了点轻伤。write-off /ˈraɪt ɒf/ [countable noun]Britisha car that has been so badly damaged that it cannot be used again 【英】报废的车 The car was a complete write-off - I was lucky I wasn't killed. 汽车彻底报废了，我算是命大没死掉。