annihilate
to reduce to utter ruin or nonexistence; destroy utterly: The heavy bombing almost annihilated the city.
to destroy the collective existence or main body of; wipe out: to annihilate an army.
to annul; make void: to annihilate a law.
to cancel the effect of; nullify.
to defeat completely; vanquish: Our basketball team annihilated the visiting team.
Origin of annihilate
1Other words for annihilate
Other words from annihilate
- an·ni·hi·la·tive [uh-nahy-uh-ley-tiv, ‐uh-luh‐], /əˈnaɪ əˌleɪ tɪv, ‐ə lə‐/, an·ni·hi·la·to·ry [uh-nahy-uh-luh-tawr-ee, ‐tohr-ee], /əˈnaɪ ə ləˌtɔr i, ‐ˌtoʊr i/, adjective
- un·an·ni·hi·lat·ed, adjective
- un·an·ni·hi·la·tive, adjective
- un·an·ni·hi·la·to·ry, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use annihilate in a sentence
We’ve failed to annihilate ourselves, and for this we can be thankful.
People who have been around the block in this industry will always roll their eyes at language like “eliminate” and “annihilate” when referring to cyber threats.
The email security market is littered with false claims. How to fix it | jakemeth | November 27, 2020 | FortuneAs those dark matter particles annihilate with their antiparticles, they heat up the planet.
The Search for Dark Matter Is Dramatically Expanding | Charlie Wood | November 23, 2020 | Quanta MagazineThe Saints annihilated Tampa Bay, 38-3, after leading 31-0 at halftime and took control of the NFC South.
What to know for NFL Week 9: Tua Tagovailoa arrives, and Tom Brady’s Buccaneers take a beating | Adam Kilgore | November 9, 2020 | Washington PostEventually, the electron and positron do annihilate one another, Conover says.
Readers ask about positronium, wild bees and more | Science News Staff | November 6, 2020 | Science News
A “culture of accommodation and compromise” was swiftly annihilated by “the determination of a small, united band of soldiers.”
The result is that the Palestinian moderates have been politically annihilated.
Civilian populations who are at risk of being annihilated by a bomb are referred to as “economic infrastructure.”
The smiling face of man was blotted out; gratitude, virtue, were annihilated; and life had no longer an object!
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterTheir left was surrounded and annihilated while the centre and right were driven from the field in complete rout.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-PattisonAt this very time your purpose is known to the world; and, before we can prevent it, the bank may be run upon and annihilated.
British pasture farming was to be annihilated, and an immense stimulus given to that of our continental rivals.
On that very road a battalion of Uhlans had been annihilated almost to a man at the outbreak of the Great War.
The Doctor of Pimlico | William Le Queux
British Dictionary definitions for annihilate
/ (əˈnaɪəˌleɪt) /
(tr) to destroy completely; extinguish
(tr) informal to defeat totally, as in debate or argument
(intr) physics to undergo annihilation
Origin of annihilate
1Derived forms of annihilate
- annihilable (əˈnaɪələbəl), adjective
- annihilative, adjective
- annihilator, noun
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
Browse