obliteration

[uh-blit-uh-rey-shuhn]

noun

1. the act of obliterating or the state of being obliterated.

2. Pathology, Surgery.,  the removal of a part as a result of disease or surgery.

Other Word Forms

• obliterative adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of obliteration¹

1650–60; < Latin oblitterātiōn- (stem of oblitterātiō ), equivalent to oblitterāt ( us ) ( obliterate ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

The more philosemitic disagreed, suggesting instead accommodations that could only possibly end in Israel’s obliteration.

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“I believe it was total obliteration,” the president told reporters.

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They’re minors in the modern world, where naivete is a currency that buys a one-way ticket to the obliteration of their innocence.

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And an obliteration of this magnitude required a perfect storm of factors that few would have predicted several days ahead of time.

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The director is well aware that the heyday of American musicals on both stage and screen occurred amid the Great Depression, World War II, the Holocaust and the brink of nuclear obliteration.

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