destroyed Not a word you'll encounter in everyday Italian, but for those keen on expanding their vocabulary, it's one worth remembering.
Because it is an adjective, the ending changes to correspond with the gender and/or majority of the subject:
- destroyed = masculine, singular
- destroyed = feminine, single
- destroyed = masculine, plural
- destroyed = feminine, plural
First, it is used to describe something that has been damaged to the point that it has lost some or most of its stability. Some very common examples include:
- bumpy road = uneven/rutted/rough roads
- Poor road condition = uneven road surface
- dilapidated structure = damaged structure
- Mechanism of damage = imbalance mechanism
- a dilapidated house = Damaged/unstable housing
Damaged sidewalks on Milan Street will soon be repaired, they said.
They say the bumpy sidewalks on Milan Avenue will be fixed soon.
Figuratively speaking, it can also refer to something that is in financial difficulty, such as a company.
They tried their best to save the company, but the company was in terrible shape.
They tried their best to save the company, but the company's financial situation was too unstable.
used as a noun, destroyed (as well as feminine destroyed) can mean a person in severe financial distress, although this usage is uncommon.
Related terms include verb disturbmeaning is destabilize, to upset, unbalance or destroyand noun break downmeaning unstable or confusion.
Heather Broster is a graduate with honors in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, fluent in English and Italian, as well as varying degrees of fluency in Japanese, Welsh and French. Originally from Toronto, Heather has lived in several countries, notably Italy for six years. Her main research areas are language acquisition, education and bilingual teaching.
