Taxonomy of meanings for 滅:　　

  • 滅 miè (OC: med MC: miɛt) 亡列切 入 廣韻：【盡也絶也亡列切二 】
    • DESTROY
      • nabeventdestruction
      • nabbuddhistBUDDH: cessation, extinction (as part of the four phases of birth, continuation, change, and extinction)
      • nabprocessdestruction, vanishingIn the BUDDH. context referring to the vanishing of dharmas
      • vadNdecimated, destroyed
      • vi0there will be destruction ???
      • vt(oN)destroy the contextually determinate N
      • vt+prep+Ndestroy
      • vtoNdestroy; annihilate; wipe out, obliterate (may occasionally take abstract objects)
      • vtoNcausativecause to have (one's own things) destroyed, have (one's own things) destroyed
      • vtoNfigurativedestroy
      • vtoNmiddle voicebe destroyed, be reduced to nothing
      • vtoNN=abstractdestroy (something abstract)
      • vtoNpassivebe destroyed, be eroded; be annihilated
      • vtoNreflexive.自destoy (oneself)
      • vadNdoomed to destruction, headed for destructionCH
      • causative: EXTINGUISH
        • vt(oN)extinguish the contextually determinate N
        • vtoNextinguish (fire)
        • vtoNfigurative"extinguish"
        • vtoNmiddle voicego out, be extinguished (as of lamps or candles)
        • vtoNpassivebe extinguished (a fire)
        • general> REMOVE
          • vtoNfigurativemake disappear in appearance; remove
          • vtoNfigurativebe removed
      • general: win decisively against> WIN
        • vtoNoverride, be supreme over
      • middle voice> DIE
        • vichangebe annihilated> die
        • general> DISAPPEAR
          • vimiddle voice: be destroyed> disappearCH
          • vtoNcausativecause to disappear; expunge; cause to become invisibleCH
          • vimiddle voice: be destroyed> disappearCH
          • Buddhist: self-extinction> SALVATION
            • nabactentering nirvana through annihilation
            • nabstativenirvana
            • vichangeenter nirvana >???

    Additional information about 滅

    說文解字: 【滅】，盡也。从水、烕聲。 【亡列切】

      Criteria
    • ARISE

      [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

      [HIGH-DEGREE/LOW-DEGREE]

      [INCHOACTIVE/PERFECTIVE]

      1. The most current general word for something arising is probably qǐ 起 (ant. zhǐ 止 "cease to exist").

      [GENERAL]

      2. Méng 萌 is inchoative and refers to the initial stage of arising.

      [INCHOATIVE]

      3. Shēng 生 (ant. miè 滅 "be extinguished (as dinosaurs)") refers to the coming into existence of something which did not previously exist.

      [PERFECTIVE]

      4. Xīng 興 (ant. xí 息 "cease to be virulent") and fā 發 refer to something moving from an "incubatory" state to a state of manifest "virulence" and full development.

      [HIGH-DEGREE], [PERFECTIVE]

      5. Chū 出 (NB: rù 入 cannot be used as an antonym for this meaning.) refers to something that pre-exists emerging or moving from an initial state of hiddenness or non-obviousness to a state of manifest visibility (in analogy with the basic meaning of the word "to come out").

      [SPECIFIC]

      6. Zuò 作 (ant.* xiē 歇 "cease to exist, cease to be active, cease to happen") typically refers to something happening or arising for the first time, but the word can also refer to the emergence of persons like sages.

      [ORIGINAL], [SPECIFIC]

      NB: This group needs to be viewed together with BEGIN, and the line between the two is by no means always clear.

    • EXTINGUISH

      1. The standard word for extinguishing a fire is xí 息.

      2. Miè 滅 "destroy" is occasionally used to refer to the extinguishing of fires.

    • DESTROY

      1. The current general word for destruction of any kind is huǐ 毀, and what is destroyed may anything from a toy or a house to a state.

      2. Miè 滅 refers to the physical destruction of cities or states, and the word implies the use of external military force, and typically military resistance.

      3. Pò 破 is always violent destruction of concrete objects of any kind.

      4. Cán 殘 focusses on the reckless attitude shown by the destroyer.

      5. Yāng 殃 focusses on the disaster constituted by destruction, and this word is used mostly nominally.

      6. Suì 碎 focusses on complete smashing into small pieces of what is destroyed.

      7. Huài 壞 and huī 墮 / 隳 are "to be destroyed, to collapse" but the words are also used transitively "cause to be destroyed, cause to collapse".

      8. Wáng 亡 (ant. fù 復 "reestablish") refers to the political/social ruin of a state and does not focus on any form of physical annihilation or damage.

      9. Bài 敗 and zéi 賊 are currently used for the destruction of abstract things such as dé 德 "virtue".

      Word relations
    • Result: (DESTROY)伐/ATTACK Fá 伐 refers to a large-scale typically destructive formal attack by one state on another, typically formally announced, and with much beating of drums. [DESCENDING], [MILITARY], [LARGE-SCALE!], [OVERT]
    • Ant: (DESTROY)生/ARISE Shēng 生 (ant. miè 滅 "be extinguished (as dinosaurs)") refers to the coming into existence of something which did not previously exist. [PERFECTIVE]
    • Object: (DESTROY)國/STATE The dominant word is guó 國, and the word naturally focusses on the capital which defines the identity of the state, but from Warring States times the word does refer to the whole of the territory, as the term guó xiāo 國削 "the state was truncated" shows.
    • Object: (DESTROY)社稷/NATION Shè jì 社稷 refers to the altars of the land and grain as symbols of the nation.
    • Contrast: (DESTROY)除/REMOVE Chú 除 refers specifically to getting rid of something undesirable.
    • Assoc: (DESTROY)亡/DESTROY Wáng 亡 (ant. fù 復 "reestablish") refers to the political/social ruin of a state and does not focus on any form of physical annihilation or damage.
    • Assoc: (DESTROY)沒 / 歿/DIE Mò 沒/歿 (ant. cún 存 "survive") and zhōng 終are abstract elevated, polite words to use about the death of a significant person.
    • Assoc: (DESTROY)絕/DESTROY
    • Synon: (DESTROY)殫/DESTROY