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 15:3–6]
11. Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse allegorical figures representing pestilence, war, famine, death. [N.T.: Revelation 6:1–8]
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 (1337–1453). [Eur. Hist.: Bishop, 382–395]
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.: Collier’s, 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 9–10, 1938). [Ger. Hist.: Hitler, 689–694]
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, 406–407]
29. Sherman’s “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 (1618–1648). [Eur. Hist.: EB, 18: 333–344]
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 16:1–17]
34. Vulcan god of destruction, placated by gifts of captured weapons. [Rom. Myth.: Howe, 294]

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

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

destruction •ashen, fashion, passion, ration •abstraction, action, attraction, benefaction, compaction, contraction, counteraction, diffraction, enaction, exaction, extraction, faction, fraction, interaction, liquefaction, malefaction, petrifaction, proaction, protraction, putrefaction, redaction, retroaction, satisfaction, stupefaction, subtraction, traction, transaction, tumefaction, vitrifaction •expansion, mansion, scansion, stanchion •sanction •caption, contraption •harshen, Martian •cession, discretion, freshen, session •abjection, affection, circumspection, collection, complexion, confection, connection, convection, correction, defection, deflection, dejection, detection, direction, ejection, election, erection, genuflection, imperfection, infection, inflection, injection, inspection, insurrection, interconnection, interjection, intersection, introspection, lection, misdirection, objection, perfection, predilection, projection, protection, refection, reflection, rejection, resurrection, retrospection, section, selection, subjection, transection, vivisection •exemption, pre-emption, redemption •abstention, apprehension, ascension, attention, circumvention, comprehension, condescension, contention, contravention, convention, declension, detention, dimension, dissension, extension, gentian, hypertension, hypotension, intention, intervention, invention, mention, misapprehension, obtention, pension, prehension, prevention, recension, retention, subvention, supervention, suspension, tension •conception, contraception, deception, exception, inception, interception, misconception, perception, reception •Übermenschen • subsection •ablation, aeration, agnation, Alsatian, Amerasian, Asian, aviation, cetacean, citation, conation, creation, Croatian, crustacean, curation, Dalmatian, delation, dilation, donation, duration, elation, fixation, Galatian, gyration, Haitian, halation, Horatian, ideation, illation, lavation, legation, libation, location, lunation, mutation, natation, nation, negation, notation, nutation, oblation, oration, ovation, potation, relation, rogation, rotation, Sarmatian, sedation, Serbo-Croatian, station, taxation, Thracian, vacation, vexation, vocation, zonation •accretion, Capetian, completion, concretion, deletion, depletion, Diocletian, excretion, Grecian, Helvetian, repletion, Rhodesian, secretion, suppletion, Tahitian, venetian •academician, addition, aesthetician (US esthetician), ambition, audition, beautician, clinician, coition, cosmetician, diagnostician, dialectician, dietitian, Domitian, edition, electrician, emission, fission, fruition, Hermitian, ignition, linguistician, logician, magician, mathematician, Mauritian, mechanician, metaphysician, mission, monition, mortician, munition, musician, obstetrician, omission, optician, paediatrician (US pediatrician), patrician, petition, Phoenician, physician, politician, position, rhetorician, sedition, statistician, suspicion, tactician, technician, theoretician, Titian, tuition, volition •addiction, affliction, benediction, constriction, conviction, crucifixion, depiction, dereliction, diction, eviction, fiction, friction, infliction, interdiction, jurisdiction, malediction, restriction, transfixion, valediction •distinction, extinction, intinction •ascription, circumscription, conscription, decryption, description, Egyptian, encryption, inscription, misdescription, prescription, subscription, superscription, transcription •proscription •concoction, decoction •adoption, option •abortion, apportion, caution, contortion, distortion, extortion, portion, proportion, retortion, torsion •auction •absorption, sorption •commotion, devotion, emotion, groschen, Laotian, locomotion, lotion, motion, notion, Nova Scotian, ocean, potion, promotion •ablution, absolution, allocution, attribution, circumlocution, circumvolution, Confucian, constitution, contribution, convolution, counter-revolution, destitution, dilution, diminution, distribution, electrocution, elocution, evolution, execution, institution, interlocution, irresolution, Lilliputian, locution, perlocution, persecution, pollution, prosecution, prostitution, restitution, retribution, Rosicrucian, solution, substitution, volution •cushion • resumption • München •pincushion •Belorussian, Prussian, Russian •abduction, conduction, construction, deduction, destruction, eduction, effluxion, induction, instruction, introduction, misconstruction, obstruction, production, reduction, ruction, seduction, suction, underproduction •avulsion, compulsion, convulsion, emulsion, expulsion, impulsion, propulsion, repulsion, revulsion •assumption, consumption, gumption, presumption •luncheon, scuncheon, truncheon •compunction, conjunction, dysfunction, expunction, function, junction, malfunction, multifunction, unction •abruption, corruption, disruption, eruption, interruption •T-junction • liposuction •animadversion, aspersion, assertion, aversion, Cistercian, coercion, conversion, desertion, disconcertion, dispersion, diversion, emersion, excursion, exertion, extroversion, immersion, incursion, insertion, interspersion, introversion, Persian, perversion, submersion, subversion, tertian, version •excerption