obliteration
Americannoun
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the act of obliterating or the state of being obliterated.
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Pathology, Surgery. the removal of a part as a result of disease or surgery.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of obliteration
1650–60; < Latin oblitterātiōn- (stem of oblitterātiō ), equivalent to oblitterāt ( us ) ( see obliterate) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Obliteration is the total destruction of something, so that nothing remains of it. Holding a lit match up to a balloon might cause its obliteration. The noun obliteration can describe a literal destruction, like an explosion or terrible fire, but it's also frequently used to mean a more figurative kind of eradication. You might, for example, hear people on the news talk about the obliteration of democracy in a country, or the obliteration of a politician's candidacy after a scandal is revealed. The word comes from the Latin obliterare, "cause to disappear, blot out, or erase."
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.
"I think we're right on the cusp of a total obliteration of diesel trucks as a product category."
From Barron's • Apr. 29, 2026
These newcomers, however, have no stake in the comradely game’s continuation, and are in fact dedicated to its obliteration: They want to take the game’s money away.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 6, 2025
Speaking at The Hague where he attended a Nato summit on Wednesday, Trump said of the strikes: "It was very severe. It was obliteration."
From BBC • Jun. 25, 2025
The problem is that Ronan is also forging her compelling warts-and-all portrait of obliteration and recovery in another type of gale storm, that of undisciplined filmmaking at odds with the patient harvesting of characterization.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 3, 2024
And every fan couldn’t help but believe that the following week’s game would be little more than a continuation of the Cooper obliteration, only a thousand times more sweet.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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.
