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
-
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
-
So, when republican France went to war with its monarchical neighbors, President Washington declared neutrality.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
Under the umbrella of Saudi Vision 2030, the nation is pivoting toward a diverse, sustainable economy with an ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.—
FMG Studios,
Footwear News,
1 May 2026
Noun
-
Faced with these criticisms, SEJ affirmed its commitment to ethical journalism centered on objectivity and balanced news reporting.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
1 May 2026
-
The vast majority of parents have very little objectivity about their childrens' athletic ability.—
Joe Kinsey OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Both the criticism and self-flagellation imply that the act of claiming another person’s words can render these words deceitful, even if the words have been paid for and the content is true.—
Emily Hodgson Anderson,
The Conversation,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Huerta shouldn’t have to engage in this rite of self-flagellation, of course, but she and Chavez are linked by their legacies as two of the greatest civil rights fighters in our history.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The company accepted charitable grants, including thirty million dollars from what was then called Open Philanthropy, a hub of the effective-altruism movement whose commitments included supporting the distribution of mosquito nets to the global poor.—
Ronan Farrow,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Biblical scholar Bart Ehrman contends that our modern sense of altruism can be traced back to the radical shift in ethical thinking sparked by Jesus' teachings.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Maryland ethics law bars state employees from having secondary employment that would impair their impartiality.—
Christine Condon,
Baltimore Sun,
24 Apr. 2026
-
It’s meant to emphasize impartiality of the jury.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-annihilation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-annihilation. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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