Word.ws English Dictionary

deconstruct

UK/ˌdiːkənˈstɹʌkt/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Northern England/ˌdiːkənˈstɹʊkt/

deconstruct verb: to break something down into its component parts.

Verb

deconstruct (third-person singular simple present deconstructs, present participle deconstructing, simple past and past participle deconstructed)

  1. (figuratively, often, transitive) To break something down into its component parts.
  2. (transitive) To analyse in terms of deconstruction (a philosophical theory of textual criticism).
  3. (transitive) To analyse in general.
  4. (intransitive) To question and reexamine the beliefs taught in one's religious upbringing.
  5. (transitive) To critique.
  6. (transitive) To prepare (a dish) in an experimental way that presents the core ingredients separately.
  7. (US, especially, transitive) To destroy.

Examples of deconstruct in a sentence

  • It also helped deconstruct the stereotypical notion of Dalits as being oppressed, suppressed and illiterate.
  • Scandal rags rip that reinforcement and deliriously deconstruct and deidolize the idols who ignore you.
  • Brain dumps can help AuDHDers with organizing and visualizing thoughts, prioritizing tasks, and deconstructing projects into manageable steps.

All 12 example sentences with deconstruct

Antonyms of deconstruct

Forms of deconstruct

third-person singular presentdeconstructs
present participledeconstructing
past participledeconstructed
pastdeconstructed

Past tense of deconstruct: deconstructed

Origin of deconstruct

From de- + construct.

Words formed from deconstruct

Questions about deconstruct

What does deconstruct mean?
Deconstruct means to break something down into its component parts.
What part of speech is deconstruct?
Deconstruct is a verb.
How do you pronounce deconstruct?
Deconstruct is pronounced /ˌdiːkənˈstɹʌkt/ (UK).
What is the past tense of deconstruct?
The past tense of deconstruct is deconstructed.

Words near deconstruct in the dictionary

  1. deconstitutionalization
  2. deconstitutionalize
  3. deconstitutionalized
  4. deconstitutionalizes
  5. deconstitutionalizing
  6. deconstruct
  7. deconstructability
  8. deconstructable
  9. deconstructed
  10. deconstructible
  11. deconstructing

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: deconstruct (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “deconstruct.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/deconstruct. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.