destruction
/dɪˈstrʌkʃən/·디스트럭션·noun
the act of destroying
LatinCEFR B1
Root
de- (down, away) + Latin 'struere' (to build) + -tion (act)
Latin destructio (a pulling down) → Old French destruction → Middle English destruccioun
In a word
de- (down) + struct (build) + -tion = 'the act of pulling built things back down'. If construct is the hand going up, destruction is the same hand going the other way. One root holds both opposite acts — the building hand and the wrecking hand are one and the same.
Examples
The storm caused widespread destruction.
War leads to the destruction of cities.
They tried to prevent the destruction of the forest.
Related
structureconstructinstructdestroydestructive