obliterate

[uh-blit-uh-reyt] / əˈblɪt əˌreɪt /

VERB

destroy

Synonyms

STRONGEST

annihilate black out eliminate eradicate erase expunge exterminate knock out obscure ravage smash wash out wipe out

STRONG

ax bog cancel cover cut defeat delete efface extirpate finish kill level liquidate nix off scratch scrub sink squash torpedo total trash waste zap

WEAK

KO X out blot out blue pencil do in finish off knock off mark out root out rub off rub out shoot down take apart take out wipe off face of earth

Antonyms

STRONGEST

add aid assist bear build create fix help revive

STRONG

begin construct initiate keep leave alone save schedule set up start

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But the full force of energy bursting from Cyclops' visor should obliterate those cobwebs.

From BBC • Jan. 9, 2026

Nearly 60 years later, Congress has done all it can to obliterate that mission.

From Slate • Jul. 17, 2025

She does not obliterate herself, as Tár would demand — she frees herself.

From Salon • Mar. 12, 2025

And why does it feel like large swaths of the local hip-hop world not only want to pretend that the killing never happened, but simultaneously obliterate all evidence of Drakeo’s era-defining impact?

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2025

And as this scruffy vehicle coasted noisily to a colorful exhaust-belching halt, it happened to obliterate from Bernabe’s view the lone parking meter in town.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

Vocabulary lists containing obliterate

List 3

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The Lightning Thief

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This Week in Words: September 17 - 24, 2017

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