obliterate

[uh-blit-uh-reyt]

See more synonyms for obliterate on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), ob·lit·er·at·ed, ob·lit·er·at·ing.

to remove or destroy all traces of; do away with; destroy completely.
to blot out or render undecipherable (writing, marks, etc.); efface.

Origin of obliterate

1590–1600; < Latin oblitterātus (past participle of oblitterāre, efface, cause to be forgotten), equivalent to ob- ob- + litter(a) letter¹ + -ātus -ate¹

Related formsob·lit·er·a·ble

[uh-blit-er-uh-buhl] /əˈblɪt ər ə bəl/, adjectiveo·blit·er·a·tor, nounhalf-ob·lit·er·at·ed, adjectiveun·ob·lit·er·at·ed, adjective

Synonyms for obliterate

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2. expunge.

Synonym study

2. See cancel.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for obliterated

destroyed, removed, annihilated

Examples from the Web for obliterated

Contemporary Examples of obliterated

By Dan P. Lee, New York Magazine She was 22 when her memory was obliterated.
The Daily Beast’s Best Longreads, Sept. 22-28, 2014
John Boot
September 28, 2014
Lava and ash fell for days; the sun was obliterated for three months.
Book a Room for Two in a Santorini Cave
Joanna Eede
June 10, 2014
The fiasco over Proposition 8, she notes, should have been a case for the Avengers, but they were now “obliterated.”
Tick-Tock: The Explosive Power of the Lesbian Avengers
Tim Teeman
March 22, 2014
Extras like foreign languages and Greek classics have been all but obliterated from the national curriculum.
A Dickensian Christmas For Greece’s New Poor
Barbie Latza Nadeau
December 22, 2013
A British shell fell short and obliterated his sergeant; Lewis, knocked out, had an out-of-body experience.
Three Great Men Died That Day: JFK, C.S. Lewis, and Aldous Huxley
John Garth
November 3, 2013

Historical Examples of obliterated

A vision of gray eyes, blurred in tears of regret, had obliterated all that was material.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
The action of the plough has often obliterated the traces of ancient barrows.
English Villages
P. H. Ditchfield
She looked at her work and obliterated the expression again.
The Eternal City
Hall Caine
The ancient priory of Austin Friars was at Ludlow, but is obliterated.
England, Picturesque and Descriptive
Joel Cook
A bunch of Drilgoes, caught by it, were obliterated in an instant.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, May, 1930
Various

British Dictionary definitions for obliterated

obliterate

verb

(tr) to destroy every trace of; wipe out completely

Derived Formsobliteration, nounobliterative, adjectiveobliterator, noun

Word Origin for obliterate

C16: from Latin oblitterāre to erase, from ob- out + littera letter

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

Word Origin and History for obliterated

obliterate

c.1600, from Latin obliteratus, past participle of obliterare "cause to disappear, blot out, erase, efface," figuratively "cause to be forgotten," from ob "against" (see ob-) + littera (also litera) "letter, script" (see letter (n.)); abstracted from phrase literas scribere "write across letters, strike out letters." Related: Obliterated; obliterating.

obliterated in Medicine

obliterate

[ə-blĭt′ə-rāt′, ō-blĭt′-]

To remove an organ or another body part completely, as by surgery, disease, or radiation.
To blot out, especially through filling of a natural space by fibrosis or inflammation.

Related formso•blit′er•a′tion n.