| destructive distillation | Submission of an organic substance to heat in a closed vessel so that oxygen is absent and combustion prevented, with the objective of effecting its decomposition with release of volatile constituents and the formation of new substances. Synonym: destructive distillation. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| destructiveness | 1. The quality of destroying or ruining. 2. <psychology> The faculty supposed to impel to the commission of acts of destruction; propensity to destroy. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |