1
as in eradicating
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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in destroying
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of
the tornado simply annihilated the family's home
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in overcoming
to defeat by a large margin
we didn't just win; we absolutely annihilated them!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of annihilating
Its project is annihilating transformation.
—
Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026
Usually these particles almost immediately disappear again by annihilating each other—but not this time.
—Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 4 Feb. 2026
As the Universe expands and cools, the cross-section drops, and eventually, dark matter stops annihilating away or interacting with anything else in any appreciable way.
—Big Think, 29 Jan. 2026
Indiana’s defense is masterful, a plug-and-play roster that is annihilating opponents without its leading tackler.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 10 Jan. 2026
The ruthless annihilating self-criticism silenced by looking into your big brown eyes, a mirror and a time machine.
—Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 12 Dec. 2025
Oh, and stopping the Soviets from annihilating the world.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
As a result, Israel preserved its existence without annihilating vast opposition forces.
—Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Foreign Affairs, 23 Sep. 2025
Sense-annihilating dreck has become a generational identity that these kids can claim as their own.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 10 Sep. 2025
Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026
Usually these particles almost immediately disappear again by annihilating each other—but not this time.
—Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 4 Feb. 2026
As the Universe expands and cools, the cross-section drops, and eventually, dark matter stops annihilating away or interacting with anything else in any appreciable way.
—Big Think, 29 Jan. 2026
Indiana’s defense is masterful, a plug-and-play roster that is annihilating opponents without its leading tackler.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 10 Jan. 2026
The ruthless annihilating self-criticism silenced by looking into your big brown eyes, a mirror and a time machine.
—Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 12 Dec. 2025
Oh, and stopping the Soviets from annihilating the world.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
As a result, Israel preserved its existence without annihilating vast opposition forces.
—Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Foreign Affairs, 23 Sep. 2025
Sense-annihilating dreck has become a generational identity that these kids can claim as their own.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 10 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for annihilating
Verb
-
Yet Aii has struggled to achieve more than a handful of percentage points of its goal of eradicating 100 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions by the decade’s end.—
Jasmin Malik Chua,
Sourcing Journal,
19 Feb. 2026
-
The very first big project the foundation took on was eradicating hookworm in the American South.—
Christopher DiLella,
CNBC,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The firestorm ravaged Pacific Palisades and Altadena, killing 31, destroying more than 16,000 structures and contaminating others with toxins and heavy metals.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Special prosecutors indict Kim Keon Hee and former Prime Minister Han on charges of abetting Yoon’s imposition of martial law, falsifying and destroying official documents and lying under oath.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
For me, Gregg’s incredible voice resonates not just in his music but in his humanity, in overcoming the murder of his father, the early death of his brother Duane, and his personal demons.—
Jem Aswad,
Variety,
20 Feb. 2026
-
The first step to overcoming a fear of abandonment can look like opening up to your partner about your concerns.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In other markets, gold’s price slumped briefly after the ruling before erasing its loss.—
Stan Choe,
Fortune,
20 Feb. 2026
-
These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Converting Gary Works to an Electric Arc Furnace facility would mean shutting down the entire plant, demolishing it, and building new facilities.—
Tara Molina,
CBS News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
The plans accommodate through-running train capacity without demolishing the neighborhood south of Penn.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The family is trying to save face by burying him quickly, and preventing any investigation into his possible murder.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Johnson, who was 15 when he was charged with murder, alleged Guevara framed him by burying a lineup report identifying someone else as the gunman in a 1991 Humboldt Park shooting, then lied about it at trial.—
Jake Sheridan,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Success will be measured by progress toward abolishing property taxes, restoring public trust, improving infrastructure reliability, reducing corruption, and overall approval from the people of Texas.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Authoritarian states have learned to insulate themselves from diaspora pressure while simultaneously using emigration as a safety valve, turning potential dissidents into remittance-senders – as Cuba did by abolishing exit visas in 2013.—
Michael Paarlberg,
The Conversation,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Doomscrolling was ruining my life.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Wednesday was a repeat, with flies and rodent poop ruining the callback inspection.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Annihilating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/annihilating. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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