adjectiveother

zerstört

destroyed · destroy

Nicht mehr ganz oder heil, weil etwas kaputt gemacht wurde.

Definition & meaning

zerstört means destroyed, ruined, or devastated. It describes something that has been damaged so severely that it no longer works, exists, or remains in its original condition.

It can also describe someone who is emotionally devastated or exhausted, depending on context.

Grammar & word origin

zerstört is the past participle of zerstören , meaning “to destroy.” It is also used as an adjective and changes its ending to agree with the noun it describes.

The prefix zer- often conveys breaking something apart or bringing it to a state of ruin. zerstören is a regular verb: its simple past is zerstörte, and its perfect tense uses hat zerstört.

Synonyms & antonyms

kaputt — “broken” or “out of order”; often less severe and more informal than zerstört.
beschädigt — “damaged”; usually suggests that at least some of the object remains usable or repairable.
ruiniert — “ruined”; can refer to objects, plans, finances, or someone’s prospects.
verwüstet — “devastated” or “laid waste”; often used for places after major damage.
vernichtet — “annihilated” or “eliminated”; stronger and often suggests total destruction.

Antonyms include:

intakt — “intact” or “in working order.”
unversehrt — “undamaged” or “unharmed.”
heil — “whole” or “unbroken”; often used for objects or people.
wiederhergestellt — “restored”; emphasizes that something has been repaired or returned to a previous condition.

Common phrases & collocations

völlig zerstört [?](vocabuo://word/völlig zerstört) — completely destroyed
schwer zerstört [?](vocabuo://word/schwer zerstört) — badly damaged or heavily destroyed
durch Feuer zerstört [?](vocabuo://word/durch Feuer zerstört) — destroyed by fire
emotional zerstört [?](vocabuo://word/emotional zerstört) — emotionally devastated