What would be the best word for "destroyer"?

Question

There are a few different words I've found with the meaning of "one who destroys or ruins", though most are fairly rare or only poetical. Is there a more commonly used word that I am missing? It seems like something that would have been used frequently considering how much we humans war with each other.

Some examples I've found:

1. ēversor: the d. of Carthage, Carthaginis e., Quint.
2. exstinctor: the d. of his country, patriae ex., Cic.
3. confector: fire the d. and consumer of all things, c. et consumptor omnium ignis, Cic.: d. of wild beasts, ferarum c., Suet.
4. perdĭtor: the d. of the republic, reipublicae p., Cic.
5. pĕremptor: d. of an illustrious king, inclyti regis p., Sen.: Apul.: fem. peremptrix, Tert.
6. intĕremptor: d. of his master, int. heri sui, Sen.: Val. Max.: fem. interemptrix, Lact.: Tert.

Edit: The context for this is to describe the sun, which can give life but is also a destroyer of life. However, I am interested in other words that may have other contexts.

Answer 1

I'd say "deletor", as the only word for "destroy" that I know is "delere" ("Ceterum, censeo Carthaginem delendam esse." - "As for other things, I think Carthaga should be destroyed.").

Answer 2

That would be usually be populator, if you are talking about destroying big things or many people. Examples:

luxus populator opum (Luxury, the destroyer of wealth) Claudian
populator Achilles Iliaca ambustis ossibus arva premit
   (The Destroyer, Achilles, rests his charred bones on the Trojan fields) Ovid

If you are talking about mostly destroying just one thing or person, then you can use extinctor or perditor as in hic praepotens cruenti extinctor Antichristi (He is the destroyer of the bloody Antichrist) Prudentius.

If you are talking about destruction in the clinical sense, like demolishing a building, tearing something down purposefully (not harmfully), then you should use the word destructor. The words aedificator and destructor are antonyms. Along the same lines, a slightly stronger word that means to overthrow in the context of politics is eversor. The words fabricator and eversor are antonyms.

If you are talking about destruction personified, not about something that is acting as a destroyer, then there are various options, notably Pestis (the plague), Letum (=Death personified), and Perditio (perdition).