obliterated

[uh-blit-uh-rey-tid]

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.

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• half-obliterated adjective
• unobliterated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of obliterated¹

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

Example Sentences

The Hall of Extinction and Hope analogizes manmade climate change and habitat destruction to a slow-moving asteroid that has already obliterated species such as the passenger pigeon, dodo and great auk.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In June, a UN independent international commission of inquiry said Israel had "obliterated Gaza's education system".

Read more on BBC

Loyalty is rewarded, dissent is punished and the line between reporter and political operative is obliterated.

Read more on Salon

Mansions with picturesque views of the Pacific Ocean were obliterated into charred slabs of stucco, broken concrete and dust.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

After almost two years of war, triggered by the Hamas attacks of October 2023, much of the territory has been obliterated.

Read more on BBC