Origin: Latin suffix -ive
Destructive has 2 different meanings across 1 category:
causing destruction or much damage
"a policy that is destructive to the economy"
"destructive criticism"
Causing destruction; damaging.
"The destructive storm tore apart several buildings in the coastal town."
In plain English: Destructive means causing damage or ruining something so it cannot be used anymore.
"The destructive storm caused significant damage to the coastal town."
The word "destructive" comes from the Old French term destructif, which was borrowed into English via Middle English around 1400. It originally combined a Latin root meaning "to tear down or destroy" with a suffix indicating something that has the power to do so, resulting in an adjective describing anything capable of causing ruin.