as in destruction
the state or fact of being rendered nonexistent, physically unsound, or useless
the ill-advised obliteration of the town's historic district in order to make way for a shopping center
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of obliteration
This was an obliteration, of a player one year his senior.
—
Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 3 June 2026
Yet despite the obliteration of scores of military targets, the regime in Tehran has proved resilient and able to strike its Gulf neighbors.
—Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2026
Visitors are stunned seeing the rampant, deliberate obliteration of the character of Hillcrest.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
The Butlerian Jihad ultimately resulted in the obliteration of all thinking machines, as well as a wholesale ban on any new robotic creations.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 19 Mar. 2026
War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that with the near-complete obliteration of the Iranian military, the next phase of the war is to destroy Iran’s arms manufacturing supply chain.
—Molly Parks, The Washington Examiner, 14 Mar. 2026
The dangerous joy, the glee and courage, the humor in the face of fate, the wild ramble of a life driven towards the artistic heavens and the daily balm of self obliteration.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 12 Mar. 2026
This is well-observed, though the obliteration of the frothiest market themes from their early 2021 peak was far more damaging than anything seen so far this month.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 25 Oct. 2025
The obliteration of both Iran’s nuclear facilities and the foreign terrorist cartels traversing the Gulf of America are clear evidence of the president's success.
—Brian Mast, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 3 June 2026
Yet despite the obliteration of scores of military targets, the regime in Tehran has proved resilient and able to strike its Gulf neighbors.
—Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2026
Visitors are stunned seeing the rampant, deliberate obliteration of the character of Hillcrest.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
The Butlerian Jihad ultimately resulted in the obliteration of all thinking machines, as well as a wholesale ban on any new robotic creations.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 19 Mar. 2026
War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that with the near-complete obliteration of the Iranian military, the next phase of the war is to destroy Iran’s arms manufacturing supply chain.
—Molly Parks, The Washington Examiner, 14 Mar. 2026
The dangerous joy, the glee and courage, the humor in the face of fate, the wild ramble of a life driven towards the artistic heavens and the daily balm of self obliteration.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 12 Mar. 2026
This is well-observed, though the obliteration of the frothiest market themes from their early 2021 peak was far more damaging than anything seen so far this month.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 25 Oct. 2025
The obliteration of both Iran’s nuclear facilities and the foreign terrorist cartels traversing the Gulf of America are clear evidence of the president's success.
—Brian Mast, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obliteration
Noun
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She was arrested at a hotel near the barn and booked at the Clark County Juvenile Hall on 12 counts of animal cruelty, including intentionally aiming or torturing a horse, as well as three counts of malicious destruction of property.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
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The teen, who was at a nearby hotel, was taken into custody and booked for 12 counts of willful/malicious kill/maim/torture animal -- horse and three counts of felony malicious destruction of private property over $5,000, police said.—
Emily Shapiro,
ABC News,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
The unexplained detonation of explosives stored by one of Myanmar’s rebel armies has killed dozens, the militia that controls the village and witnesses said Monday, as the search for survivors continued amid widespread devastation at the site.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
1 June 2026
-
Leigh opened up about the devastation of his loss last month.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
The goal of all this havoc is not to destroy democracy, according to Vergara—though that might be a welcome side effect, to some—but to torpedo the rule of law and thereby protect illicit financial gains.—
Daniel Alarcón,
New Yorker,
4 June 2026
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Finally, incompetence and unprofessionalism in the new management have wreaked havoc.—
Joanna Ossinger,Laya Neelakandan,
CNBC,
3 June 2026
Noun
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For months, the loudest voices in artificial intelligence—including OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei—warned that entry-level white-collar jobs were headed for extinction.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
1 June 2026
-
As this natural history points out, birds are dinosaurs—the only ones who survived the last extinction event.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
In that loss, USC stranded 13 runners, struck out 12 times and left men in scoring position in each of the first seven innings.—
Jose de Jesus Ortiz,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
-
The Trojans followed that with three consecutive singles to load the bases and chase Ciscar, who pitched two-plus innings of relief after logging just two outs as Miami’s starter in Saturday’s blowout loss to Florida.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
31 May 2026
Noun
-
The list highlights some of the community's most historic landmarks, either shuttered or at risk of demolition.—
Dawn White,
CBS News,
31 May 2026
-
The annual event marks the anniversary of the estate’s rescue from potential demolition by Flagler’s granddaughter, Jean Flagler Matthews, who established the Flagler Museum in 1959.—
Kari Barnett,
Sun Sentinel,
30 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Obliteration.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obliteration. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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