毁灭

• Pinyin: huǐ miè
• Hanzi breakdown: 毁 = 臼 + 工 + 土 (to demolish); 灭 = 火 under 一 (fire extinguished beneath a stroke, to wipe out)

Meaning

To annihilate or obliterate; to bring about complete and total destruction with no possibility of recovery or restoration.

Stronger and more absolute than 毁坏. 毁灭 suggests total obliteration — of a civilisation, hope, life, or existence itself. Common in historical, literary, philosophical, and military contexts. Also used figuratively for the complete destruction of dreams, values, or identity.

Examples

1. 那场持续数年的战争几乎毁灭了这座城市的一切，留下的只有废墟与无尽的哀痛。 That war, which lasted for years, nearly obliterated everything in the city, leaving only ruins and endless grief.
2. 若不加以保护，人类活动所造成的环境破坏可能在未来数十年内毁灭多个物种的生存空间。 Without protection, environmental damage caused by human activity could wipe out the habitats of multiple species within the next few decades.
3. 他意识到，一次错误的决策足以毁灭一个企业数十年来苦心经营所积累的声誉与信任。 He realized that one wrong decision could destroy the reputation and trust the company had painstakingly built over decades.

Usage Guide

Context: history, literature, politics, philosophy, environment

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 核武器一旦投入使用，其破坏力足以在极短时间内毁灭整座城市及其中所有的生命与文明成果。(Once nuclear weapons are deployed, their destructive power is sufficient to annihilate an entire city and all the life and civilisational achievements within it in an extremely short time.)
• 腐败不仅毁灭了他个人的政治前途，更动摇了公众对整个机构的信任，其后果远比任何外部危机更为深重。(Corruption not only destroyed his personal political career, but also shook the public's trust in the entire institution — its consequences far more profound than any external crisis.)

Don't Say

• 毁灭 for minor or repairable damage — use 毁坏 or 破坏; 毁灭 implies complete and irreversible annihilation, not partial damage

Origin & History

毁 (destroy) + 灭 (extinguish/annihilate) — total and irreversible destruction

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal