obliterate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to remove or destroy all traces of; do away with; destroy completely.
-
to blot out or render undecipherable (writing, marks, etc.); efface.
- Synonyms:
- expunge
verb
Related Words
See cancel.
Other Word Forms
- obliterable adjective
- obliteration noun
- obliterative adjective
- obliterator noun
Etymology
Origin of obliterate
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin oblitterātus “effaced,” past participle of oblitterāre “to efface, cause to be forgotten,” equivalent to ob- ob- + litter(a) letter 1 + -āre, infinitive verb suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Nearly 60 years later, Congress has done all it can to obliterate that mission.
From Slate • Jul. 17, 2025
“You’ve got to sublimate yourself, your ego, and yes, your identity. You must stand in front of the public and God and obliterate yourself.”
From Salon • Mar. 12, 2025
But it does remind us that when we obliterate the social pact, we destroy the very thing that gives our lives meaning.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2025
But what she didn’t know was that a meteor was hurtling in her direction, about to obliterate everything.
From BBC • Aug. 2, 2024
Not since Y2K had I felt so certain that something terrible was coming, something that would obliterate everything I’d known before.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
