obliteration

American  

[uh-blit-uh-rey-shuhn] / əˌblɪt əˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of obliterating or the state of being obliterated.

2. Pathology, Surgery. the removal of a part as a result of disease or surgery.

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Other Word Forms

• obliterative
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of obliteration

1650–60; < Latin oblitterātiōn- (stem of oblitterātiō ), equivalent to oblitterāt ( us ) ( see obliterate) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

Obliteration is the total destruction of something, so that nothing remains of it. Holding a lit match up to a balloon might cause its obliteration. The noun obliteration can describe a literal destruction, like an explosion or terrible fire, but it's also frequently used to mean a more figurative kind of eradication. You might, for example, hear people on the news talk about the obliteration of democracy in a country, or the obliteration of a politician's candidacy after a scandal is revealed. The word comes from the Latin obliterare, "cause to disappear, blot out, or erase."

Example Sentences

Obliteration drives several extraordinary series of conceptual works that shine in the exhibition.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 22, 2025

In another episode, The Extract Obliteration, he appears making a phone call to Sheldon - having played a game of Words With Friends online with him.

From BBC • Mar. 14, 2018

Rather like the Obliteration Room, in which visitors paste colored stickers over blank, white walls, the selfie is something pasted over the blankness of the experience itself.

From Washington Post • Apr. 14, 2017

"Obliteration is not in our lexicon," declares Moylan.

From The Guardian • Aug. 18, 2012

Obliteration of a portion of the Urethra, remedied by an operation.—M.

From North American Medical and Surgical Journal, Vol. 2, No. 3, July, 1826 by Bache, Franklin