as in self-immolation
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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
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
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Gonzales admitted to having an affair with a former staffer who died by self-immolation.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Ratansen dies defending his honor; Padmavati and the women of Chitor perform jauhar (the ancient Rajput practice of self-immolation to avoid capture).—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The pollution limit — or cap — declines each year, reducing the total amount of emissions in the state and helping California reach its ambitious climate targets, including 100% carbon neutrality by 2045.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2026
-
The group stands for love and peace of all people globally and neutrality.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
28 May 2026
Noun
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Slot, as head coach, was more of a middle manager; someone who acted with the objectivity of a civil servant and the occasional bluntness of a corrections officer.—
Simon Hughes,
New York Times,
30 May 2026
-
Specifically, the manner in which Alfonsi’s work and objectivity was disparaged with the very public pulling of her CECOT piece.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
In 1994 Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was also a cleric with the rank of ayatollah, issued a fatwa forbidding the practice of self-flagellation.—
Charles Preston,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
22 May 2026
-
Grace's departure is handled carefully in John of John, even buried under the gross tonnage of John Mcleod's flaws and relentless self-flagellation.—
Paula Cooper,
CBS News,
5 May 2026
Noun
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This is a book of profound intellectual altruism and moral urgency that insists on summoning courage despite (or because of) societal and political cleavage.—
Anna Holmes,
The Atlantic,
27 May 2026
-
Musk did push for structures that would have given him control, and Altman and Brockman became extraordinarily wealthy from an organization built around the language of altruism.—
Anisha Sircar,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
Noun
-
While questioning a potential juror on impartiality, the man informed the court that a woman who had already been questioned was outside the courtroom playing a news story about the case aloud on her phone.—
Nikiya Carrero,
CBS News,
3 June 2026
-
For instance, traditional print outlets value such tenets as balance, impartiality, gatekeeping, and prepublication verification, whereas digital products often emphasize immediacy, transparency, partiality, and postpublication correction.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-annihilation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-annihilation. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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