SELF-ANNIHILATION Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

self-annihilation

noun

Definition of self-annihilation

as in self-immolation

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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 self-annihilation The will toward self-annihilation is a familiar human characteristic. — Henry Freedland, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025 Her self-annihilation is grisly and impossible to misinterpret as a final repudiation of her role in the HMS Courageous bombing and, until Grace announces she’d like Hal to be her vice-president, is the most intense and far-reaching twist of the episode. — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025 And he is compelled by a righteous fury to warn others of his son’s dark path to self-annihilation. — Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 22 June 2025 The broken family exults in its own debasement just like the protesters and activist judges who pursue self-annihilation as liberation. — Armond White, National Review, 19 Mar. 2025 The clock, which is updated by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, is meant to be a metaphor for how close humanity is to self-annihilation. — Rebecca Morin, USA TODAY, 29 Jan. 2025 The image becomes metabolized by the fungus in a process of self-annihilation and, like the memory itself, given a new kind of presence through its decay. — Mariana Fernández, ARTnews.com, 18 Dec. 2024 The Doomsday Clock is a metaphor for how close humanity is to self-annihilation, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which has maintained the clock since 1947. — Doyle Rice, The Courier-Journal, 23 Jan. 2024 These stellar objects, called dark stars, might have been fueled not by nuclear fusion but by the self-annihilation of dark matter—the invisible stuff that is thought to make up about 85 percent of the matter in the universe. — Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 20 July 2023

Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-annihilation

Noun

YouTube was used to widely share videos, including the initial protests in Tunisia following the self-immolation of a fruit vendor.

— David Friend, Vanity Fair, 10 Sep. 2026
People in crisis incarcerated in Joliet have set over 60 fires since summer 2024, including eight cases of self-immolation and, after guards impeded access to lifesaving care, at least one death.

— Joan Steffen, Chicago Tribune, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of self-immolation

Noun

Art requires some neutrality to find its voice, but a building dedicated to the exploration of narrative shouldn’t stop exploring just when its storytelling begins.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
That neutrality can provide exposure to the broader market without requiring one architecture to dominate.

— John Gabriel, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of neutrality

Noun

Vibration monitors would provide some objectivity, said Leila Sauvage, a paper conservator at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam who specializes in the impacts of vibration on art.

— Rachel Treisman, NPR, 20 Aug. 2026
One of the biggest mistakes leaders make during a mid-year review is allowing optimism to replace objectivity.

— John Abusaid, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of objectivity

Noun

Some supporters performed self-flagellation on the streets, while others waved Iranian as well as red and black flags symbolizing mourning and revenge.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 July 2026
In Baghdad, thousands marched through the streets, including some who slashed their heads with razors and performed other forms of self-flagellation in a show of grief to mark the occasion.

— Fadi Tawil, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2026

Definition of self-flagellation

Noun

The United States should not echo its 1970s policies around food power, during which officials boasted of altruism while attempting to exert political strength by alternatively deploying and withholding its grain supply.

— Anna Nelson, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2026
These positive connotations associated with scientific research help the AI industry signal altruism while downplaying their profit-making ambitions.

— Matthew Sun, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of altruism

Noun

Reitano also stated that the benefits that people like her could bring to the bench would come from impartiality itself rather than diversity of prosecutorial and defense backgrounds alone.

— Rafael Perez, Daily News, 8 Sep. 2026
If some umpires have treated Vitello differently than other managers, then that’s a poor reflection on them for betraying their impartiality.

— Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of impartiality

Browse Nearby Words

self-analysis

self-annihilation

self-applauding

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“Self-annihilation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-annihilation. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of self-annihilation

noun

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