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

The reason is clear: most Americans understand that Israel is fighting for its very survival against terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, whose explicit mission is to annihilate Israel. —Nina Turner, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024

This movie is about an oceanside town in Maryland that gets annihilated by huge lice that started by taking out marine life and have now found their way into humans. —Jordan Crucchiola, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2024

The tribes which occupied the countries now constituting the Eastern States were annihilated or have melted away to make room for the whites. —Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 27 Sep. 2024

Art is constructive, whereas drugs annihilate, and religion can be exploited. —Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 18 Oct. 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