obliterated

American  

[uh-blit-uh-rey-tid] / əˈblɪt əˌreɪ tɪd /

adjective

1. completely destroyed or done away with, so that little or no trace remains.

   I stood amid the rubble of obliterated buildings, where not even a feral cat was to be seen.

   Removing the brain tumor left him with an obliterated memory of the last 15 years.

2. blotted out completely so that it cannot be read or discerned.

   He was arrested for possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of obliterate.

Other Word Forms

• half-obliterated
  adjective
• unobliterated
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of obliterated

First recorded in 1605–15; obliterate ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; obliterate ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Explanation

Something that's obliterated is gone. If your dreams of becoming a trapeze artist are completely obliterated after your first two difficult weeks at circus school, maybe you can switch to clowning. Obliterated comes from the Latin phrase literas scribere, meaning strike or cross out letters. When something is obliterated, it disappears or is so damaged, you can barely recognize it. It might be literally wiped out, like a house obliterated by fire, or figuratively destroyed, like your obliterated hopes of marrying your favorite movie star someday.

Example Sentences

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

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition was among the largest ever staged and nearly obliterated the city’s finances.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026

The world’s fastest human in the half-marathon is still just that, but the Ugandan’s record time of 57 minutes, 20 seconds, was obliterated Sunday in Beijing by a 5-foot-5 humanoid robot named Lightning.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2026

Daniil Medvedev obliterated a racquet as he suffered the first 6-0 6-0 loss of his career at the hands of Matteo Berrettini in Monte Carlo.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

He obliterated the rest of the field at both interviews.

From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins