obliterate
verb
J. W. KrutchEmily Dickinson
Did you know?
Obliterate has been preserved in our language for centuries, and that’s not nothing! The earliest evidence in our files traces obliterate back to the mid-16th century as a word for removing something from memory. Soon after, English speakers began to use it for the specific act of blotting out or obscuring anything written, and eventually its meaning was generalized to removing anything from existence. In the meantime, physicians began using obliterate for the surgical act of filling or closing up a vessel, cavity, or passage with tissue, which would then cause the bodily part to collapse or disappear. Today obliterate thrives in the English lexicon with the various senses it has acquired over the years, including its final stamp on the language: “to cancel (something, especially a postage stamp).”
Synonyms
Examples of obliterate in a Sentence
Oshan Jarow, Vox, 4 Nov. 2024
Think of it like nuclear energy, a tool that can simultaneously provide endless clean electricity or obliterate the globe depending on how it’s used.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024
On the south side of town tucked in the Blue Ridge Mountains, 15 homes were obliterated and 14 more were damaged.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 24 Oct. 2024
The storm obliterated vast parts of Florida, including the surrounding areas of Hunters Point like Anna Maria Island and Bradenton.
—Rachel Ramirez, CNN, 12 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for obliterate 
Dictionary Entries Near obliterate
Cite this Entry
“Obliterate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obliterate. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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obliterate
verb
Medical Definition
obliterate
transitive verb
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