annihilation

American  

[uh-nahy-uh-ley-shuhn] / əˌnaɪ əˈleɪ ʃən /

noun

1. an act or instance of annihilating, or of completely destroying or defeating someone or something.

   the brutal annihilation of millions of people.

2. the state of being annihilated; total destruction; extinction.

   fear of nuclear annihilation.

3. Physics.

   1. Also called pair annihilation.  the process in which a particle and antiparticle unite, annihilate each other, and produce one or more photons.

   2. the conversion of rest mass into energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation.

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annihilation British  

/ əˌnaɪəˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. total destruction

2. the act of annihilating

3. physics the destruction of a particle and its antiparticle when they collide. The annihilation of an electron with a positron generates two or, very rarely, three photons of annihilation radiation . The annihilation of a nucleon with its antiparticle generates several pions

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Etymology

Origin of annihilation

First recorded in 1630–40; from French or directly from Late Latin annihilātiōn- (stem of annihilātiō ); annihilate, -ion

Explanation

Annihilation is the total destruction of something. In World War II, our nuclear bombs resulted in the annihilation of Hiroshima. If you spill milk on your textbooks, it won’t result in annihilation — this word is much more serious. After an annihilation, there's nothing left but total, horrific destruction, like a wild fire completely wiping out a forest or a tsunami sweeping away a seaside town. This word has an end-of-the-world feel to it: many religions have stories of annihilation of some sort, resulting in the end of everything.

Example Sentences

Relations between Washington and Moscow were starting to thaw, yet a staggering stockpile of almost 70,000 nuclear warheads meant the threat of annihilation lingered in the air.

From Slate • Feb. 2, 2026

Gauff summoned a ball kid and asked for three racquets to be restrung, and left the court for a toilet break after the first set annihilation.

From Barron's • Jan. 27, 2026

Aside from the ongoing menace of nuclear annihilation, the biggest threat we’ve faced as a country was 9/11 when the country’s mainland was attacked by al-Qaeda.

From Salon • Jan. 13, 2026

In his loopy 1957 essay on hipsters, Norman Mailer talked about the “psychic havoc” of living under the threat of nuclear annihilation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026

The phones at the police department in Trenton, New Jersey, started ringing when the Martians began their annihilation.

From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow

Related Words

• decimation
• demolition
• destruction
• elimination
• eradication
• extermination
• extinction
• liquidation