Détruire



Example: La guerre peut détruire des villes entières rapidement.

Definition


"Détruire" means to cause the complete ruin or destruction of something, often by force or violence. It implies making something unusable, broken down, or eliminated, as in the example phrase where war can quickly destroy entire cities.

Etymology


The word "détruire" comes from the Latin verb 'destruere', which combines 'de-' meaning 'down' or 'away' and 'struere' meaning 'to build'. So, it literally means to un-build or pull down. Did you know? This reflects the concept of reversing the act of construction.

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"Détruire" appears in the Vocaplus list "", containing 208 commonly used words.
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