obliterate

[uh-blit-uh-reyt] / əˈblɪt əˌreɪt /

VERB

destroy

Synonyms

STRONGEST

annihilate black out eliminate eradicate erase expunge exterminate knock out obscure ravage smash wash out wipe out

STRONG

ax bog cancel cover cut defeat delete efface extirpate finish kill level liquidate nix off scratch scrub sink squash torpedo total trash waste zap

WEAK

KO X out blot out blue pencil do in finish off knock off mark out root out rub off rub out shoot down take apart take out wipe off face of earth

Antonyms

STRONGEST

add aid assist bear build create fix help revive

STRONG

begin construct initiate keep leave alone save schedule set up start

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.

But now satellite images reveal that Iran is repairing the damage done, suggesting he didn’t obliterate the sites after all.

From Slate • Feb. 6, 2026

What happens in the rest of the world could "obliterate" the budget choices the chancellor has already made.

From BBC • Jul. 2, 2025

At the core of the Apache challenge to the mine is their argument that the mine would not just hamper their ability to practice their religion, but obliterate it.

From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2025

Now he’s a memory that Neil Druckmann, Craig Mazin and fellow writer Halley Gross revisit one more time, and at a point in Ellie’s journey when a vendetta threatens to obliterate her moral compass.

From Salon • May 19, 2025

Some girls and boys obliterate their rooms as they grow older, thinking they have to banish all their younger incarnations in order to convincingly inhabit a new one.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan

Vocabulary lists containing obliterate

List 3

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This Week in Words: September 17 - 24, 2017

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