1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

blot out

verb

Definition of blot outnext
1
as in to eradicate
to destroy all traces of blotted out all evidence of tampering with the explosive device

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to hide
to keep secret or shut off from view bushes blotted out the shed from our view

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of blot out Now, fireflies have become scarce, the July nights have grown too hot for comfort, and the summer skies are often blotted out by smoke. — Literary Hub, 15 July 2026 The sight of the sun being blotted out has long had religious and spiritual meaning. — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 15 July 2026 There’s light pollution — and then there are giant orbital space mirrors that blot out the night sky. — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 15 July 2026 Ancient caravan routes are now mere remnants, quickly blotted out by the path of red trucks. — Cristina Dorador, The Dial, 14 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for blot out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blot out
  1. eradicate
  2. hide
  3. erase
  4. conceal
  5. abolish
  6. obscure
  7. wipe out
  8. cover
Verb
  • The team has eradicated every invasive casuarina pine, the Australian import whose needles poison the native plants beneath it, along with invasive sea grapes that chew up the dunes.
    — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Screwworm had been considered eradicated from the US, Mexico and most of Central America decades ago.
    — Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of eradicate
Verb
  • These elements hide in low concentrations inside lithium ores and salt-lake brines.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 15 Sep. 2026
  • As the nickel cornerback, there’s nowhere for Johnson to hide.
    — Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of hide
Verb
  • These benefits and opportunities are currently under threat of being dismantled and erased by Belgium’s current right-wing government.
    — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026
  • And many may be counting on the step-up in basis after death to erase the tax.
    — Robert Frank, CNBC, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of erase
Verb
  • The series begins during a police intervention in which two officers shoot an unarmed teenager and decide to conceal what happened from their superiors.
    — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026
  • That would mean finding a place to conceal our crew of 300 people — not an easy feat in these locations!
    — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of conceal
Verb
  • Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton is vowing to abolish California’s DMV and cap annual vehicle registration at $73, framing the proposal as a strike against soaring living costs.
    — Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Karishma Manzur, a medical scientist and first-time candidate, supported Medicare for All and abolishing ICE while declining money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC.
    — Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of abolish
Verb
  • Orwell was exploring the roles that euphemism, tangled syntax, and dying metaphors can play in obscuring the true intentions of a totalitarian state.
    — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Last week, OpenAI began rolling out its latest model, Astra, which performs better but obscures more of its internal processes.
    — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of obscure
Verb
  • The two once presented a live demo minutes after a computer cloud crash wiped out their materials, winning anyway after Andreou pitched the product entirely from memory.
    — Sebastian Herrera, Fortune, 27 June 2026
  • Widespread flooding across Kentucky has left at least four dead Saturday, prompting dozens of rescues after heavy rains wiped out bridges, inundated roads and flooded homes, with more significant rainfall on the way.
    — Emma Tucker, CNN Money, 27 June 2026
Definition of wipe out
Verb
  • Chinese authorities this year proposed mutual aid elder care services to cover 70% of regions by 2030.
    — HUIYEE CHIEW AND LYRIC LI THE WASHINGTON POST, Arkansas Online, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Control centres in Seoul and Daejeon cover more than 5,000 people under electronic monitoring, and handle 19,000 alerts a day, said The Guardian.
    — Will Barker, TheWeek, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of cover

Browse Nearby Words

blotchy
blot out
blots
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Blot out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blot%20out. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of watershed

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All