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壊滅的 (kaimetsuteki) Japanese meaning: devastating | Kotomora

壊かい滅めつ的てき

か

い

め

つ

て

き

Meanings

1

devastating; catastrophic; crushing

Describes damage, defeat, or destruction that is overwhelming and complete. Often used with nouns like 被害 (damage), 打撃 (blow), or 結果 (result).

地じ震しんは町まちに壊かい滅めつ的てきな被ひ害がい

を

もたらし

た

。

The earthquake caused devastating damage to the town.

チームは壊かい滅めつ的てきな敗はい北ぼくを喫きっした。

The team suffered a crushing defeat.

Kanji

壊demolition, break, destroy
滅destroy, ruin, overthrow
的bull's eye, mark, target
潰crush, smash, break

Related words

壊かい滅めつ
壊滅 is a noun meaning 'destruction' or 'annihilation'; 壊滅的 is the adjectival form meaning 'devastating'.
破は壊かい的てき
破壊的 also means 'destructive', but focuses more on the act of destroying rather than the overwhelming result.

Built from

壊かい滅めつ+的てき

Written forms

壊かい滅めつ的てき
Standard kanji spelling.
潰かい滅めつ的てき
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; 壊滅的 is preferred.

Etymology

Formed from 壊滅 (destruction) + 的 (-like, -ish). 壊滅 is a Sino-Japanese compound of 壊 (break, destroy) and 滅 (destroy, perish).