Destroy
Destroy verb - To bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of.
Usage example: their poor scores on the final exam destroyed any chance they might have had to pass the course
Mangle is a synonym for destroy in demolish topic. In some cases you can use "Mangle" instead a verb "Destroy", when it comes to topics like incapacitate.
Mangle
Mangle verb - To make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way.
Usage example: you've mangled this so badly that we'll have to do it over
Destroy is a synonym for mangle in crush topic. Sometimes you can use "Destroy" instead a verb "Mangle", if it concerns topics such as demolish, incapacitate, mutilate.
Mutual synonyms
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
- Alice manages to destroy/ruin/mangle Bob's shirt/sunglasses/hair/whatever.
Source: My Favorite Shirt -
Alternatively, Jeremy Fitzgerald survives an incredibly challenging and terrifying week of murderous animatronics trying to destroy him, and finally gets moved to the day shift on its last day open
and he becomes the victim of the Bite of '87 courtesy of Foxy or the Mangle.note
or not.
Cite this Source
Mangle and Destroy. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/destroy/mangle
Destroy & Mangle. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/destroy/mangle>.
Mangle or Destroy. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/destroy/mangle.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "destroy" and "mangle" have occurred on timeline