破滅|はめつhametsu[0]heiban (flat)

Common
Definitions
  1. noun, suru verb, intransitive verbruin; destruction; fall
    遅おそかれ早はやかれ彼かれは破滅はめつする。↗
    He will eventually ruin himself.
Conjugation
Dictionary form破滅する(はめつする)
Polite (masu)破滅します(はめつします)
Negative (nai)破滅しない(はめつしない)
polite (masen)破滅しません(はめつしません)
classical zu / nu破滅せず・破滅せぬ(はめつせず・はめつせぬ)
Past (ta)破滅した(はめつした)
polite (mashita)破滅しました(はめつしました)
Past negative (nakatta)破滅しなかった(はめつしなかった)
polite (masen deshita)破滅しませんでした(はめつしませんでした)
Te form破滅して(はめつして)
Potential破滅できる(はめつできる)
Passive破滅される(はめつされる)
Causative破滅させる(はめつさせる)
Causative passive破滅させられる(はめつさせられる)
Conditional (ba)破滅すれば(はめつすれば)
tara破滅したら(はめつしたら)
Volitional破滅しよう(はめつしよう)
polite (mashou)破滅しましょう(はめつしましょう)
Imperative破滅しろ(はめつしろ)

Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.

Synonyms & antonyms
  • Synonym壊滅かいめつWrittenUtter destruction or annihilation; stresses a devastating blow, as in 「壊滅的」.
  • Synonym破局はきょくNeutralNeutral word for a situation that can no longer hold and ends in disaster; also a romance or marriage falling apart. 「破滅」 is the total ruin of a life or career.
  • Synonym滅亡めつぼうWrittenThe fall of a nation or people as a whole, as in 「ローマ帝国の滅亡」.
  • Synonym滅びるほろびるNeutralNeutral verb for declining until something no longer exists, as in 「国が滅びる」; same as 「滅ぶ」. 「破滅」 is a noun, mostly for a person or undertaking ruined.
  • Related災いわざわいNeutralA native word for calamity or misfortune; stresses the unhappiness something brings, not necessarily total ruin.
  • Related荒廃こうはいWrittenDevastation or decay; stresses land and people's minds going to ruin, as in 「荒廃した土地」.
  • Related災難さいなんNeutralCommon in speech for a sudden piece of bad luck that hits an individual; 「破滅」 is total, irreversible ruin.
  • Related失墜しっついWrittenThe loss of trust, prestige or status, as in 「信用失墜」; not the destruction of the whole.
  • Related没落ぼつらくWrittenThe downfall of a family or class from former prosperity, as in 「没落貴族」.
  • Related惨禍さんかWrittenWritten word for a dreadful calamity; stresses the terrible damage inflicted.
  • RelatedカタストロフィーWrittenLoanword for a catastrophe or tragic ending; written style, evoking a scene of dramatic collapse.
  • Related衰亡すいぼうWrittenWritten word for decline and fall; a nation or civilization gradually weakening until it perishes.
  • Related凋落ちょうらくWrittenLiterary word for withering — flowers and leaves falling, or influence and power fading.
  • Related落魄らくはくWrittenWritten word for a person's fall into poverty and straitened circumstances.
  • Related零落れいらくWrittenWritten word for a family's fortunes collapsing into decline.
  • Related廃滅はいめつWrittenRare in writing; for decay into ruin modern Japanese prefers 「破滅」 or 「滅亡」.
  • Related覆滅ふくめつWrittenRare in writing; complete overthrow or destruction, typically of a state or regime.
  • Related滅ぶほろぶWrittenWritten verb for perishing or ceasing to exist, the same as 「滅びる」; 「破滅」 is a noun for ruin.
  • Related滅するめっするWrittenWritten, rather archaic verb for going out, perishing or being wiped out.
  • Antonym繁栄はんえいWrittenAntonym: prosperity — the opposite of the destruction and fall of 「破滅」.
  • Antonym隆盛りゅうせいWrittenAntonym: flourishing and thriving — the opposite of 「破滅」's decline and ruin.

Use 「破滅」 for the irretrievable ruin of a life or career, as in 「身の破滅」 or 「破滅的」. For a nation falling say 「滅亡」, for a devastating blow 「壊滅」, for a situation or relationship collapsing 「破局」. 「災い」 and 「災難」 are everyday words for misfortune, and 「カタストロフィー」 a written loanword for catastrophe. Written words such as 「衰亡」「荒廃」「没落」「凋落」「落魄」「零落」「失墜」「惨禍」, and rare 「覆滅」「廃滅」, each focus on decline, ruined land, a family's fall or lost status; 「滅ぶ」「滅びる」「滅する」 are verbs of perishing. Antonyms: 「繁栄」「隆盛」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

Japanese definitions
  1. 破やぶれ、滅ほろびること。どうすることもできないほど荒廃こうはいすること。
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
See also

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