Search the Dictionary

ive of serious evil; mischievous; pernicious; -- often with of or to; as, intemperance is destructive of health; evil examples are destructive to the morals of youth. Time's destructive power. Wordsworth. Destructive distillation. See Distillation. -- Destructive sorties ( (Logic), a process of reasoning which involve…

In a destructive manner.

The quality of destroying or ruining. Prynne.

Destroying, or tending to destroy, one's self or itself; rucidal.

oxygen; pyroacetic spirit, -- obtained by the distillation of certain acetates, or by the destructive distillation of citric acid, starch, sugar, or gum, with quicklime.

impid, colorless, highly volatile liquid, obtained by the dehydration of glycerin, or the destructive distillation of neutral fats containing glycerin. Its vapors are intensely irritating. Watts.

which practically consists of sodium carbonate (sal soda), which is highly corrosive and destructive to vegetation; and white alkali, characterized by the presence of sodium sulphate (Glauber's salt), which is less injurious to vegetation. Black alkali is so called because water containing it dissolves humus, forming…

A small moth (Gelechia cerealella) which is very destructive to wheat and other grain. The larva eats out the inferior of the grain, leaving only the shell.

Serving to annihilate; destructive.

A genus of small beetles, several of which, in the larval state, are very destructive to woolen goods, fur, etc. The common "museum pest" is A. varius; the carpet beetle is A. scrophulariæ. The larvæ are commonly confounded with moths.

Destructive to, or hindering the growth of, diphtheria bacilli. -- n.

Building up; constructive; -- opposed to destructive. [Obs.]

To begin to affect; to begin to act upon, injuriously or destructively; to begin to decompose or waste. On the fourth of March he was attacked by fever. Macaulay. Hydrofluoric acid . . . attacks the glass. B. Stewart.

Destructive of bacteria.

Full of deadly or pernicious influence; destructive. "Baleful enemies." Shak. Four infernal rivers that disgorge Into the burning lake their baleful streams. Milton.

Having poisonous qualities; deadly; destructive; injurious; noxious; pernicious. "Baneful hemlock." Garth. "Baneful wrath." Chapman. -- Bane"ful*ly, adv. --Bane"ful*ness, n.

The range within which the fire of small arms is very destructive. With the magazine rifle, this is six hundred yards.

A volatile, very inflammable liquid, C6H6, contained in the naphtha produced by the destructive distillation of coal, from which it is separated by fractional distillation. The name is sometimes applied also to the impure commercial product or benzole, and also, but rarely, to a similar mixed product of petroleum. Benz…

A sudden stroke or injury produced by some destructive cause. [Obs.] Shak.

A downy species of aphis, or plant louse, destructive to fruit trees, infesting both the roots and branches; -- also applied to several other injurious insects.