Word.ws English Dictionary

destructionism

destructionism noun: a belief in the final destruction or complete annihilation of the wicked.

Noun

destructionism (uncountable)

  1. A belief in the final destruction or complete annihilation of the wicked.
  2. (derogatory) advocacy or policy that purportedly destroys (or will destroy) an existing social, economic or political institution.
    • Destructionism is a science which does not require an ability to read and write to understand it. Its dogmas are short and simple. '"Down with the rich—abolish hereditary property—away with chartered rights—the many are slaves to the few—agitate and overturn till the fortunes of men are equal."...1843, Samuel Cram Jackson, Religious principle—a source of public prosperity^([Archive.org]), page 22
    • Abolitionism (or destructionism, as he called it) never received a smile from him, and he lost no opportunity to denounce it in the roundest terms. While this endeared him to his political friends, it raised a storm of opposition on the part of his enemies, which came near ending in the destruction...1871, John Augustine Marshall, “James Corban Naylor”, in American Bastille^([Archive.org]), page 213

Examples of destructionism in a sentence

  • Destructionism is a science which does not require an ability to read and write to understand it.1843, Samuel Cram Jackson, Religious principle—a source of public prosperity^([Archive.org]), page 22:
  • Abolitionism (or destructionism, as he called it) never received a smile from him, and he lost no opportunity to denounce it in the roundest terms.1871, John Augustine Marshall, “James Corban Naylor”, in American Bastille^([Archive.org]), page 213:
  • Instead of protectionism, we should call it destructionism.1985 August 31, Ronald Regan, 1:18 from the start, in Radio Address to the Nation on Free and Fair Trade^([National Archives Catalog]):

Origin of destructionism

From destruction + -ism.

Questions about destructionism

What does destructionism mean?
Destructionism means a belief in the final destruction or complete annihilation of the wicked.
How do you use destructionism in a sentence?
Destructionism is a science which does not require an ability to read and write to understand it.
What part of speech is destructionism?
Destructionism is a noun.

Words near destructionism in the dictionary

  1. destructing
  2. destruction
  3. destruction permit
  4. destruction permits
  5. destructional
  6. destructionism
  7. destructionist
  8. destructionists
  9. destructions
  10. destructive
  11. destructive backspace

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: destructionism (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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