obliterate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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
Related Words
See cancel.
Other Word Forms
- obliterable adjective
- obliteration noun
- obliterative adjective
- obliterator noun
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
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.
Its centerpiece, the lodge-like Davies Building, was all but obliterated by the fire, and its amphitheater, while still intact, suffered notable damage.
From Los Angeles Times
Life in the camp obliterated any vision of a future, any memory of a past.
From Literature
The way football is broadcast manages to obliterate any difference between an informal consumer and a face-painting fanatic.
From Los Angeles Times
If there were still any doubts that Major League Baseball was hurtling toward a labor meltdown next winter, they were obliterated on Thursday night.
But the full force of energy bursting from Cyclops' visor should obliterate those cobwebs.
From BBC
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.
