obliterate

[ uh-blit-uh-reyt ]

/ əˈblɪt əˌreɪt /

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See synonyms for: obliterate / obliterated / obliterates on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), ob·lit·er·at·ed, ob·lit·er·at·ing.

to remove or destroy all traces of; do away with; destroy completely.

to blot out or render undecipherable (writing, marks, etc.); efface.

OTHER WORDS FOR obliterate

2 expunge.

See synonyms for obliterate on Thesaurus.com

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CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of obliterate

1590–1600; <Latin oblitterātus (past participle of oblitterāre, efface, cause to be forgotten), equivalent to ob-ob- + litter(a) letter¹ + -ātus-ate¹

synonym study for obliterate

2. See cancel.

OTHER WORDS FROM obliterate

ob·lit·er·a·ble

[uh-blit-er-uh-buhl], /əˈblɪt ər ə bəl/, adjectiveo·blit·er·a·tor, nounhalf-ob·lit·er·at·ed, adjectiveun·ob·lit·er·at·ed, adjective

Words nearby obliterate

oblique sailing, oblique section, oblique-slip fault, oblique triangle, obliquity, obliterate, obliteration, oblivescence, oblivion, oblivious, oblong

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use obliterate in a sentence

That’s giving a show that doesn’t need any help more ammunition to obliterate expectations.
‘The Mandalorian’s’ second season has begun — and secrecy is still what helps make it tick|David Betancourt|October 30, 2020|Washington Post
Four years earlier, when Richard Nixon obliterated George McGovern, the first presidential election in which Kosik was eligible to vote, she didn’t.
She’s 70 years old and had never voted. But this election was too important to sit out.|Karen Heller|October 29, 2020|Washington Post
The power of numbers and the longest guns cannot destroy principle nor obliterate truth.
The Problem of Confederate Statues on U.S. Public Lands|Alex Heard|September 28, 2020|Outside Online
Then, the edge of that bubble would expand across the cosmos at the speed of light, obliterating anything in its path with no warning.
‘The End of Everything’ explores the ways the universe could perish|Emily Conover|August 4, 2020|Science News

When a government officer “fraudulently alters, falsifies, conceals, destroys, or obliterates any account” they can be prosecuted.
Audit Finds Sweetwater Officials Deliberately Manipulated Finances|Will Huntsberry|June 23, 2020|Voice of San Diego
Israel has destroyed 80% of the ones they have found, and needs only a few days to obliterate the rest.
Israel Tells Hamas: You Can Keep Your Rockets|Eli Lake, Josh Rogin|July 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A failure to act “would erode, perhaps obliterate” the taboo against such weapons.
Is Bombing Syria Obama’s Best Bad Option?|Michael Tomasky|August 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Destroy them God, obliterate them from the face of the earth.
“Destroy them, God, obliterate them from the face of the earth.”|Emily L. Hauser|August 30, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He promised to obliterate Obamacare “and replace it with real reform.”
Mitt Romney Fires Up Supporters on Virginia Campaign Stop|Lloyd Grove|June 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Yet to destroy the precious book would be to obliterate centuries of information about the Ma family line.
The Mystery of Yo-Yo Ma's Name|Henry Louis Gates, Jr.|February 9, 2010|DAILY BEAST
For the time being the interests of an enterprise of five thousand would obliterate those of fifty.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
He loved to trace her name linked with his own, and then to obliterate it again, in case anyone would see it.
The Underworld|James C. Welsh
Therefore, Socialism, excluding competition inspired by self-interest would obliterate the social dividend.
The Inhumanity of Socialism|Edward F. Adams
All the vindictiveness and rancor of a party press could not obliterate these traits, and character sufficed to put down calumny.
The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. II (of II)|Charles James Lever
The latter has allowed its prejudices and its feelings to obliterate or to stultify its reason.
Islam Her Moral And Spiritual Value|Arthur Glyn Leonard

British Dictionary definitions for obliterate

obliterate

/ (əˈblɪtəˌreɪt) /

verb

(tr) to destroy every trace of; wipe out completely

Derived forms of obliterate

obliteration, nounobliterative, adjectiveobliterator, noun

Word Origin for obliterate

C16: from Latin oblitterāre to erase, from ob- out + littera letter

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

obliterate

OTHER WORDS FOR obliterate

Origin of obliterate

synonym study for obliterate

OTHER WORDS FROM obliterate

Words nearby obliterate

Words related to obliterate

How to use obliterate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for obliterate

Derived forms of obliterate

Word Origin for obliterate