annihilate

verb

an·ni·hi·late ə-ˈnī-ə-ˌlāt

annihilated; annihilating

Synonyms of annihilate next

transitive verb

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

: to destroy a considerable part of

Bombs annihilated the city.

The enemy troops were annihilated.

: to defeat overwhelmingly : rout

annihilated the visitors 56–0

: to cause to be of no effect : nullify

a right to freedom that cannot be annihilated

: to destroy the substance or force of

Fear can annihilate one's confidence.

: to regard as of no consequence

: 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

Examples of annihilate in a Sentence

The enemy troops were annihilated. He annihilated his opponent in the last election.

Recent Examples on the Web According to my models, a concerted nuclear attack on the existing U.S. silo fields—in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Montana and North Dakota—would annihilate all life in the surrounding regions and contaminate fertile agricultural land for years. —

Sébastien Philippe, Scientific American, 10 Nov. 2023 That little thing that seems so innocent, I could be annihilated for. —

Joelle Goldstein, Peoplemag, 2 Nov. 2023 In the experiment, when the fields were slowly ramped down, the atoms eventually escaped the field and annihilated themselves in a flash on the walls of the chamber. —

Dennis Overbye, New York Times, 27 Sep. 2023 More than 100 people have perished and hundreds more remain missing after flames and smoke barreled from the hills and annihilated the historic town of Lahaina. —

BostonGlobe.com, 26 Aug. 2023 Admiral Yi Sun-shin leads an allied fleet of Joseon and Ming ships to annihilate the Wae army. —

Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Nov. 2023 Israel vowed to eradicate Hamas after the militant group—which rules Gaza and has vowed to annihilate Israel—launched attacks on the nation three weeks ago. —

Bysteve Mollman, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2023 The Tigers were annihilated by the Rays, 8-0, in the first of three games in the series at Comerica Park. —

Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, 5 Aug. 2023 According to relativity and to quantum mechanics — the two quarreling theories that rule the universe — the Big Bang should have created equal amounts of matter and antimatter, which should have annihilated each other long ago. —

Dennis Overbye, New York Times, 27 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'annihilate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.