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Disappear vs Destroy - What's the difference?

disappear | destroy |

In intransitive terms the difference between disappear and destroy

is that disappear is to go away; to become lost while destroy is to cause destruction.

In transitive terms the difference between disappear and destroy

is that disappear is to make vanish while destroy is to put down or euthanize.

disappear

English

Verb

(en verb)
  • (label) To vanish.
  • (label) To make vanish.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1973, author=Joseph Heller, chapter=38 Kid Sister
  • , title= Catch 22: A Dramatization , genre=Fiction, publisher=Delacorte Press, passage="Did they disappear' him?" / "I don’t know." / "What will you do if they decide to ' disappear you?"}}
  • (label) To go away; to become lost.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=8 , passage=I corralled the judge, and we started off across the fields
  • *{{quote-book, year=1927, author= F. E. Penny
  • , chapter=4, title= Pulling the Strings , passage=A turban and loincloth soaked in blood had been found; also a staff. These properties were known to have belonged to a toddy drawer. He had disappeared .}}

    Synonyms

    * (to vanish) dematerialize, vanish

    Antonyms

    * (to vanish) appear

    Anagrams

    *

    destroy

    English

    Verb

  • To damage beyond use or repair.
  • The earthquake destroyed several apartment complexes.
  • To cause destruction.
  • ''Hooligans destroy unprovoked
  • To neutralize, undo a property or condition.
  • ''Smoking destroys the natural subtlety of the palate
  • To put down or euthanize.
  • Destroying a rabid dog is required by law.
  • (colloquial) To defeat soundly.
  • (computing) To remove data.
  • The memory leak happened because we forgot to destroy the temporary lists.

    Synonyms

    * annihilate * break * demolish * kill * ruin * waste * See also

    Antonyms

    * build * construct * create * make * raise * repair

    Derived terms

    * destroyable * destroyer * destroyer escort * destroying angel