annihilate

verb

an·​ni·​hi·​late ə-ˈnī-ə-ˌlāt 

annihilated; annihilating

transitive verb

1

a

: to cause to cease to exist : to do away with entirely so that nothing remains

b

: to destroy a considerable part of

Bombs annihilated the city.

The enemy troops were annihilated.

c

: to defeat overwhelmingly : rout

annihilated the visitors 56–0

2

a

: to cause to be of no effect : nullify

a right to freedom that cannot be annihilated

b

: to destroy the substance or force of

Fear can annihilate one's confidence.

3

: to regard as of no consequence

4

: to cause (something, such as a particle and its antiparticle) to vanish or cease to exist by coming together and changing into other forms of energy (such as photons)

matter and antimatter annihilate each other

intransitive verb

of a particle and its antiparticle : to vanish or cease to exist by coming together and changing into other forms of energy (such as photons)

annihilatory

ə-ˈnī-ə-lə-ˌtȯr-ē 

adjective

Synonyms

• abolish
• black out
• blot out
• cancel
• clean (up)
• efface
• eradicate
• erase
• expunge
• exterminate
• extirpate
• liquidate
• obliterate
• root (out)
• rub out
• snuff (out)
• stamp (out)
• sweep (away)
• wipe out

Examples of annihilate in a Sentence

The enemy troops were annihilated.

He annihilated his opponent in the last election.

Recent Examples on the Web

Why Red Bull struggled in 2024 In 2022 and 2023, Verstappen annihilated his rivals by winning 15 and 19 races out of the 22 in calendar respectively. —Dan Cancian, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025

Yesterday’s pangrams were alighting, annihilating, halting, hightailing and lathing. —David Leonhardt, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025

The Lebanese militia Hezbollah, Iran’s most powerful proxy, was all but annihilated by Israel, which continues to operate in parts of southern Lebanon. —Dylan Matthews, Vox, 2 Jan. 2025

There was no mystery about which side started better — Howe’s side annihilated Manchester United in the first half, before seeing out their 2-0 lead relatively comfortably to clinch their fourth consecutive victory in the Premier League. —Ahmed Walid, The Athletic, 31 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin annihilatus, past participle of annihilare to reduce to nothing, from Latin ad- + nihil nothing — more at nil

First Known Use

1525, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2a

Kids Definition

annihilate

verb

an·​ni·​hi·​late ə-ˈnī-ə-ˌlāt 

annihilated; annihilating

: to destroy completely

annihilation

ə-ˌnī-ə-ˈlā-shən 

noun

annihilator

ə-ˈnī-ə-ˌlāt-ər 

noun