as in to eradicate
to destroy all traces of
in a stroke, the March snowstorm obliterated our hopes for an early spring
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Recent Examples of obliterate
The Cavs obliterated the previous all-time record of 188 (LSU, 1997).
—
Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 30 May 2026
Fullerton’s reserves have been obliterated.
—John Seiler, Oc Register, 26 May 2026
Jódar, who can obliterate the ball, came out hot and stayed that way on a scorching day, winning half of the points on Kovacevic’s serve.
—Ava Wallace, New York Times, 25 May 2026
Enhanced is attempting to obliterate both of those constructs at once.
—Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 25 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for obliterate
Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 30 May 2026
Fullerton’s reserves have been obliterated.
—John Seiler, Oc Register, 26 May 2026
Jódar, who can obliterate the ball, came out hot and stayed that way on a scorching day, winning half of the points on Kovacevic’s serve.
—Ava Wallace, New York Times, 25 May 2026
Enhanced is attempting to obliterate both of those constructs at once.
—Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 25 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for obliterate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obliterate
Verb
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How did the United States eradicate them?—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
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For an easy summer cleaning tip, wash towels in hot water and toss 1/2 cup of baking soda into the rinse cycle to eradicate stale scents.—
Emerson Latham,
Better Homes & Gardens,
30 May 2026
Verb
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Jalen Brunson scored 30 points, Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and the Knicks erased a 14-point second-half deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs 105-95 in Game 1 on Wednesday night.—
Tim Reynolds,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
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Her belief in a universal truth was not unique, but her pursuit of it was relentless and oddly self-erasing.—
Eliza Goodpasture,
ARTnews.com,
3 June 2026
Verb
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And actually one of his first public acts after signing the Constitution was to petition Congress to abolish slavery.—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
1 June 2026
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Avila Chevalier’s campaign priorities also include abolishing ICE, adding affordable housing and securing federal funds to repair the city’s public housing.—
Joseph Strauss,
Sun Sentinel,
1 June 2026
Verb
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In July 1936, anarchists set fire to the church’s crypt and broke into the architect’s workshop before destroying many of his plans and plaster models.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
8 June 2026
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The Russian president, who has never acknowledged that Ukraine is a legitimate country, or that Zelensky is its legitimate president, could continue to bomb Ukrainian cities, hoping to destroy the electrical grid and make the country unlivable.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
7 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Obliterate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obliterate. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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