obliterate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
obliterates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
obliterated,
past participle, past
-
obliterating
present participle
-
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
Synonym Usage
See cancel.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
obliteratesimple
-
obliteratessimple
-
have obliteratedperfect
-
has obliteratedperfect
-
am obliteratingprogressive
-
are obliteratingprogressive
-
is obliteratingprogressive
-
have been obliteratingperfect progressive
-
has been obliteratingperfect progressive
Past
-
obliteratedsimple
-
had obliteratedperfect
-
was obliteratingprogressive
-
were obliteratingprogressive
-
had been obliteratingperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
When you see obliterate, think of evil alien invaders that zap a planet with a destructive ray. In one blast, the planet and all of the people on it are vaporized. The planet is truly obliterated, or completely wiped out. A long time ago, obliterate had to do with blotting out words on a page. This is why you see the word literate in there. Today it means to erase or destroy completely so that there is nothing left. While you can still obliterate text, you can also obliterate hope, an opponent, or all traces of your presence. Whatever you obliterate is completely gone.
Vocabulary lists containing obliterate
List 3
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The Lightning Thief
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This Week in Words: September 17 - 24, 2017
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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.
See Examples For:
It is clear that Arsenal would almost certainly need to obliterate the British transfer record of £125m, from Alexander Isak's move from Newcastle to Liverpool last summer.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Fox finally broke through with two PGA Tour wins last year, and the one asset he always possessed was the ability to obliterate drives.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
If you not yet 65 and are using ACA coverage, Roth conversions can obliterate premium subsidies.
From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026
Nearly 60 years later, Congress has done all it can to obliterate that mission.
From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2025
The earth covered them almost entirely; grass and meadow flowers had sprung up to obliterate them further and make them part of the mountain itself.
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
You can definitely mourn for all the possibilities that a death decisively obliterates.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2024
Was it because, while each character dresses conservatively, Flo’s wardrobe obliterates any trace of curves by sheathing her in a bulky apron?
From New York Times ● Dec. 28, 2023
“It’s still the most subversive comedy in ages, a smart bomb that obliterates its intended target.”
From Washington Times ● Dec. 3, 2023
“The objects we’re trying to study–distant galaxies and stars–are 20 million times fainter than satellites. So when one of these streaks goes across the image, it completely obliterates the image.”
From National Geographic ● Aug. 11, 2023
His most remarkable feature besides his paleness, a paleness that obliterates any possible expression, is his hair.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
Any hope Infantino might have had of tiptoeing away from the scene of his World Cup private-investment wreckage having sustained only minor damage to his reputation has been obliterated.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Morishita was born in Hiroshima in 1948, three years after the city was obliterated by an atomic bomb.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush — a man whose own presidential campaign was obliterated by a reality TV host — called a Pratt campaign video “maybe the best political ad of the year.”
From Salon ● May 18, 2026
‘We gotta stay with it,” said Marcus Smart, who has been obliterated by the Thunder’s physical guards.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2026
In the seventy-five years since the Dark Days—when 13 was said to have been obliterated in the war between the Capitol and the districts— almost all new construction has been beneath the earth’s surface.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe finished in 1:59:30, obliterating the previous record of 2:00:35 set at the 2023 Chicago Marathon by Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
The United States is the only country to have used nuclear weapons in combat, obliterating the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II, killing some 214,000 people.
From Barron's ● Apr. 23, 2026
Jamaica's Oblique Seville claimed a stunning victory in the men's 100m, obliterating a line-up featuring Olympic champion Noah Lyles by finishing in 9.86 secs.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2025
Questions abound around the wildfires still burning their way across Los Angeles, obliterating entire neighborhoods with an unfathomable speed and ferocity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2025
The snow was covering everything, burying the mountain lion’s tracks and obliterating his scent.
From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko
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.
