different between expunge vs destroy

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin expungere, present active infinitive of expungo, from ex + pungo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ks.?p?nd?/
• Rhymes: -?nd?

Verb

expunge (third-person singular simple present expunges, present participle expunging, simple past and past participle expunged)

1. (transitive) To erase or strike out.
2. (transitive) To eliminate completely; annihilate.
3. (transitive, computing) To delete permanently (e-mail etc.) that was previously marked for deletion but still stored.

Derived terms

Translations

Latin

Verb

expunge

1. second-person singular present active imperative of expung?

English

Etymology

From Middle English destroyen, from Old French destruire, Vulgar Latin *destrug?, from Classical Latin d?stru?, from d?- (“un-, de-”) + stru? (“I build”). Displaced native shend (“destroy, injure”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d??st???/
• Rhymes: -??
• Hyphenation: de?stroy

Verb

destroy (third-person singular simple present destroys, present participle destroying, simple past and past participle destroyed)

2. (transitive, intransitive) To damage beyond use or repair.

3. (transitive) To neutralize, undo a property or condition.

4. (transitive) To put down or euthanize.

5. (transitive) To severely disrupt the well-being of (a person); ruin.
   • 2005, Kliatt Young Adult Paperback Book Guide

     Other girls in the foster home are eager to destroy her and get her kicked out of the place. It's a tough situation.

6. (colloquial, transitive, hyperbolic) To defeat soundly.
7. (computing, transitive) To remove data.

8. (US, colloquial, slang) To sing a song poorly.
9. (bodybuilding, slang, antiphrasis) To exhaust duly and thus recreate or build up.

10. (slang, vulgar) To penetrate sexually in an aggressive way.

Synonyms

• annihilate
• break
• demolish
• kill
• ruin
• waste
• See also Thesaurus:destroy

Antonyms

• build
• construct
• create
• make
• raise
• repair

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Anagrams

• stroyed