这些动词均有“破坏，损坏”之意。
break : 普通用词，指某物因被打破或撕破而受到破坏，可指有形或无形的破坏。
- The dish fell to the floor and broke.
碟子掉到地上摔碎了。 - Charles is always breaking things.
查尔斯老是打碎东西。 - She fell and broke her arm (= broke the bone in her arm).
她摔断了胳膊。 - I dropped the vase and it broke into pieces.
我把花瓶掉在地上摔碎了。 - I think I've broken your phone.
我想我弄坏了你的电话。 - I picked it up and the handle broke off.
我把它捡了起来，可手柄断了。 - We heard the sound of breaking glass.
我们听见玻璃破碎的声音。
destroy : 多指彻底地、毁灭性地破坏，含导致无用，不能或很难再修复的意味。
- Most of the old part of the city was destroyed by bombs during the war.
该城的大部分老城区都在战争中被炸毁了。 - The accident seemed to have completely/totally destroyed his confidence.
这场事故似乎已彻底击垮了他的信心。
ruin : 多指因外部原因而受到严重破坏或毁灭，侧重破坏的彻底性，也可用于引申意义。
- Huge modern hotels have ruined this once unspoilt coastline.
庞然大物般的现代旅馆已经完全毁掉了这片曾经如世外桃源般的海岸。 - Her injury ruined her chances of winning the race.
她受了伤，毁掉了赢得比赛的机会。
wreck : 侧重指船只、车辆、房屋等受到严重破坏或完全毁坏，也可指计划、健康受到损害。
- The explosion shattered nearby windows and wrecked two cars.
爆炸震碎了附近的窗子并毁坏了两辆汽车。 - Our greenhouse was wrecked in last night's storm.
我们的温室在昨晚的暴风雨中遭到了破坏。 - He has been warned that his behaviour might wreck his chances of promotion.
有人警告他说，他的行为可能会毁掉自己晋升的机会。
damage : 多指对无生命物体的损害，造成降低价值、破坏功能等后果。
- Many buildings were badly damaged during the war.
许多建筑物在战争中严重受损。 - It was a scandal that damaged a lot of reputations.
这是一桩使人名誉扫地的丑闻。
spoil : 强调不仅会削弱力量、精力或价值，而且会导致不可避免的毁灭。
- He tried not to let the bad news spoil his evening.
他努力不让那个坏消息破坏他晚上的兴致。 - The oil spill has spoiled the whole beautiful coastline.
溢出的石油破坏了整段漂亮的海岸线。 - I haven't seen the film, so don't spoil it for me by telling me what happens.
我还没看那部电影，所以别把内容告诉我，以免坏了我的兴致。 - You'll spoil your appetite for dinner if you have a cake now.
你要是现在吃蛋糕的话，就没胃口吃晚饭了。
