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
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obliteratesimple
-
obliteratessimple
-
have obliteratedperfect
-
has obliteratedperfect
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am obliteratingprogressive
-
are obliteratingprogressive
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is obliteratingprogressive
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have been obliteratingperfect progressive
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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:
“He had been president only thirteen days—and now he faced the prospect that to end the war and save American lives, he might have to obliterate Japan’s cities,” Mr. Scott writes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
If you not yet 65 and are using ACA coverage, Roth conversions can obliterate premium subsidies.
From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026
But now satellite images reveal that Iran is repairing the damage done, suggesting he didn’t obliterate the sites after all.
From Slate ● Feb. 6, 2026
What happens in the rest of the world could "obliterate" the budget choices the chancellor has already made.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2025
They have wives, children, occupations, and interests, they have a background which is so strong that the war cannot obliterate it.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
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
But a forced marriage of that sort obliterates the very brand that helped create the streaming business by making television what it is today.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 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
Al-Dabba, who heads the Beekeepers Cooperative in the Gaza Strip, said the war which erupted in October 2023 obliterated the Palestinian territory's beekeeping culture.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 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
"There's different models that schools will use to try and make sure that young people are not having parts of the curriculum obliterated because you don't have those staff - but sometimes it's really difficult."
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 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
She served us, helped us dress, sent us off to school, and left for her own job in a fog of pain that obliterated all hope, all romance.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
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
He was docked $30,000 for unsportsmanlike behaviour and another $12,500 for obliterating a racket against a chair.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2025
It may not even qualify as trash, but I remember Lost being a phenom when it was airing and its disastrous finale obliterating any goodwill it had built.
From Slate ● Dec. 28, 2024
It blasts away the ropes and the stake, spraying fiery splinters all over us and obliterating all thought, Noise, and sound.
From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness
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.
