Destruction

views updated May 18 2018

174. Destruction

  1. Abaddon angel of the abyss; king of locusts. [N.T.: Revelation 9:11]
  2. abomination of desolation epithet for the destructive or hateful. [Western Folklore: Benét, 3]
  3. atomic bomb (A-bomb ) fission device of enormous destructive power. [Am. Sci.: EB, I: 628]
  4. Armageddon final battle between forces of good and evil. [N.T.: Revelation 16:16]
  5. Bikini and Eniwetok Pacific atolls, sites of H-bomb testing. [Am. Hist.: Flexner, 12]
  6. Doomsday device superpower nuclear capability to destroy the world if attacked. [Brit. Cinema: Dr. Strangelove
  7. Dresden, bombing of allied incendiary bombs reduced city to inferno (February 13, 1945). [Ger. Hist.: Hitler, 1165; Am. Lit.: Slaughterhouse-Five ]
  8. Enlil storm god responsible for deluge. [Babyl. Myth.: Parrinder, 91]
  9. Enola Gay B-52 that dropped the Hiroshima A-bomb. [U.S. Hist.: WB, W:405]
  10. firebranded foxes Samson unlooses them to scorch cornfields. [O.T.: Judges 15:36]
  11. Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse allegorical figures representing pestilence, war, famine, death. [N.T.: Revelation 6:18]
  12. Götterdämmerung great final battle between Teutonic pantheon and forces of evil. [Ger. Myth.: Leach, 461]
  13. Hiroshima Japanese city destroyed by A-bomb (1945). [Am. Hist.: Fuller, III,
  14. Hormah Judah and his men level this Canaanite city. [O.T.: Judges 1:17]
  15. Hundred Years War reduced much of France to wasteland (13371453). [Eur. Hist.: Bishop, 382395]
  16. hydrogen bomb (H-bomb ) thermonuclear device more destructive than A-bomb. [Am. Sci.: EB, IX: 949]
  17. Jericho, Walls of razed on the seventh blowing of trumpets. [O.T.: Joshua 6]
  18. Jerusalem destroyed in 586 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar, and in A.D. 70 by Titus. [Jew. Hist.: Colliers, XI, 16, 17]
  19. Juggernaut (Jagannath ) huge idol of Krishna drawn through streets annually, occasionally rolling over devotees. [Hindu Rel.: EB, V: 499]
  20. Krakatoa volcano in southwest Pacific which violently exploded in 1883, destroying the island. [Asian Hist.: NCE, 1500]
  21. Kristallnacht Nazi rampage against property of German Jews (November 910, 1938). [Ger. Hist.: Hitler, 689694]
  22. Lidice Czech town obliterated by Nazis (June 10, 1942). [Eur. Hist.: Van Doren, 489]
  23. Mt. St. Helens volcanic eruption that devastated huge area in 1980. [U. S. Hist.: WB, M:735]
  24. Nagasaki Japanese city destroyed by A-bomb (1945). [Am. Hist.: Fuller, III: 626]
  25. neutron bomb causes limited havoc: kills people, preserves property. [World Hist.: Facts (1978), 103]
  26. On the Beach describes search for survivors after entire population on North America has been wiped out by nuclear war. [Br. Lit.: Weiss, 332]
  27. Ragnarok destruction of gods and all things in final battle with evil. [Norse Myth.: NCE, 1762]
  28. Rome, Sack of destroyed by the German-Spanish army under Charles V (1527). [Ital. Hist.: Plumb, 43, 406407]
  29. Shermans March to the Sea Confederate heartland ravaged by marauding Union army (1864). [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 307]
  30. Sodom and Gomorrah Biblical cities destroyed by fire for wicked ways. [O.T.: Genesis 10:19; 13; 14; 18; 19]
  31. Thirty Years War world war prototype reduced Germany to wasteland (16181648). [Eur. Hist.: EB, 18: 333344]
  32. Vesuvius volcano in Italy which erupted in A.D. 79, burying Pompeii and Herculaneum. [Rom. Hist.: NCE, 2187]
  33. Vials of Wrath seven plagues precipitating end of world. [N.T.: Revelation 16:117]
  34. Vulcan god of destruction, placated by gifts of captured weapons. [Rom. Myth.: Howe, 294]

destruction

views updated May 18 2018

de·struc·tion / diˈstrəkshən/ • n. the action or process of causing so much damage to something that it no longer exists or cannot be repaired: the destruction of the library in Alexandria | the avalanche left a trail of destruction. ∎  the action or process of killing or being killed: weapons of mass destruction. ∎  the ruination or ending of a system or state of affairs: the destruction of a traditional way of life. ∎  [in sing.] a cause of someone's ruin: gambling was his destruction.

Destruction

views updated May 23 2018

Destruction

of wildcats: a group of wildcats. See also dout.

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