Synonyms of annihilate

annihilate

verb

ə-ˈnī-ə-ˌlāt 

1

as in to eradicate

to destroy all traces of

the family's attempts to annihilate the roach population in their apartment had met with little success

Synonyms & Similar Words

• eradicate
• erase
• abolish
• destroy
• obliterate
• exterminate
• expunge
• wipe out
• liquidate
• efface
• demolish
• extirpate
• cancel
• sweep (away)
• shatter
• clean (up)
• kill
• blot out
• stamp (out)
• dismantle
• ruin
• root (out)
• devastate
• snuff (out)
• consume
• discard
• ravage
• decimate
• rub out
• flatten
• black out
• dissolve
• wreck
• fragment
• smash
• waste
• devour
• tear down
• expel
• mow (down)
• raze
• eject
• total
• powder
• pulverize
• finish
• kill off
• terminate
• blow up
• dash
• blast
• ditch
• oust
• doom
• excise
• atomize
• dynamite
• zap
• jettison
• throw out
• splinter
• cut

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• protect
• preserve
• save
• conserve
• create
• build
• make
• construct
• form
• manufacture
• shape
• forge
• fabricate
• restore
• rebuild
• reconstruct
• frame
• repair
• renew
• fix
• patch
• fashion
• mend
• renovate
• recondition
• revamp

2

as in to destroy

to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of

the tornado simply annihilated the family's home

Synonyms & Similar Words

• destroy
• demolish
• ruin
• devastate
• shatter
• wreck
• smash
• overcome
• damage
• decimate
• extinguish
• pulverize
• vaporize
• waste
• raze
• erode
• ravage
• kill
• desolate
• cream
• tear down
• total
• defeat
• cripple
• pull down
• dismantle
• crush
• mar
• subdue
• nuke
• rub out
• injure
• conquer
• remove
• wrack
• break
• do in
• best
• eradicate
• blast
• disintegrate
• obliterate
• impair
• spoil
• dissolve
• surmount
• harm
• mutilate
• exterminate
• lick
• win (against)
• disfigure
• prevail (over)
• master
• deteriorate
• triumph (over)
• trim
• rout
• vitiate
• assassinate
• extirpate
• beat
• trounce
• whip
• deface
• thrash
• slaughter
• wear (away)
• clobber
• slay
• blow up
• expunge
• sweep (away)
• liquidate
• undo
• dynamite
• scour
• mangle
• disassemble
• overmatch
• scotch
• overbear
• wipe out
• efface
• unmake
• wash out
• execute
• plunder
• despoil
• trample
• sack
• havoc
• drub
• fell
• blot out
• take down
• murder
• gut
• massacre
• cut down
• zap
• pillage
• kill off
• loot
• snuff (out)
• wallop
• stamp (out)
• dispatch
• butcher
• vandalize
• mow (down)
• take out
• skunk
• root (out)
• unbuild
• dilapidate
• trash

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• build
• construct
• raise
• create
• set up
• erect
• put up
• repair
• produce
• fix
• rear
• patch
• make
• establish
• invent
• form
• protect
• assemble
• manufacture
• mend
• found
• constitute
• preserve
• organize
• shape
• save
• forge
• fabricate
• recondition
• bring about
• mold
• conserve
• institute
• revamp
• restore
• frame
• fashion
• rebuild
• reconstruct
• doctor
• father
• renovate
• remodel

3

as in to overcome

to defeat by a large margin

we didn't just win; we absolutely annihilated them!

Synonyms & Similar Words

• overcome
• bury
• bomb
• whip
• flatten
• throw
• upset
• smother
• beat
• overwhelm
• destroy
• master
• rout
• blow away
• dust
• skin
• trounce
• conquer
• trim
• cream
• thrash
• take
• smoke
• clobber
• surpass
• paste
• exceed
• succeed
• top
• sweep
• wax
• snow under
• drub
• subdue
• subjugate
• vanquish
• crush
• whup
• worst
• eat alive
• beat the pants off
• score
• best
• wallop
• whomp
• dispatch
• wipe the floor with
• run circles around
• overthrow
• surmount
• slaughter
• skunk
• whop
• tromp
• overpower
• shellac
• better
• lick
• outdo
• transcend
• win (against)
• prevail (over)
• outshine
• triumph (over)
• cap
• outstrip
• outdistance
• finish
• eclipse
• hurdle
• overmatch
• knock over
• overbear
• upend
• excel
• flourish
• ace (out)
• overtop
• edge (out)
• outfight
• knock off
• break
• sink
• pip
• nose out
• do in

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of annihilate

The accusation works its way through society, annihilating reputations, deservedly or not. — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026

Just 75 hours after Hiroshima, a second atomic bomb annihilated another Japanese city, killing 73,000 people. — James M. Scott, Time, 10 Aug. 2026

Part woozy fever dream, part vicious action picture, the movie pivots on a prescient and horrifying warning about the ease with which humanity might annihilate itself. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Aug. 2026

Here, too, a face is lost in another body—though this time the self is annihilated by desire rather than grief. — Carmen Rosenberg-Miller, Artforum, 6 Aug. 2026