annihilate
verb
an·ni·hi·late ə-ˈnī-ə-ˌlāt 
annihilated; annihilating
transitive verb
1
a
: to cause to cease to exist : to do away with entirely so that nothing remains
b
: to destroy a considerable part of
Bombs annihilated the city.
The enemy troops were annihilated.
c
: to defeat overwhelmingly : rout
annihilated the visitors 56–0
2
a
: to cause to be of no effect : nullify
a right to freedom that cannot be annihilated
b
: to destroy the substance or force of
Fear can annihilate one's confidence.
3
: to regard as of no consequence
4
: to cause (something, such as a particle and its antiparticle) to vanish or cease to exist by coming together and changing into other forms of energy (such as photons)
matter and antimatter annihilate each other
intransitive verb
of a particle and its antiparticle : to vanish or cease to exist by coming together and changing into other forms of energy (such as photons)
annihilatory
ə-ˈnī-ə-lə-ˌtȯr-ē
adjective 
Synonyms
- abolish
- black out
- blot out
- cancel
- clean (up)
- efface
- eradicate
- erase
- expunge
- exterminate
- extirpate
- liquidate
- obliterate
- root (out)
- rub out
- snuff (out)
- stamp (out)
- sweep (away)
- wipe out
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
The enemy troops were annihilated. He annihilated his opponent in the last election.
Recent Examples on the Web In recent months, the Kim regime’s rhetoric has become more bellicose by threatening to annihilate South Korea’s military and ridiculing Seoul’s efforts to improve ties. 
Dasl Yoon, WSJ, 9 Sep. 2022 In the face of an enemy that wished to annihilate Ukrainian identity, resistance had assumed a social as well as a martial form. Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 23 July 2022 Did Cologne annihilate the meaning of the abductions and the confiscations and the shootings and the gassings and the crematories? Cynthia Ozick, The Atlantic, 3 Aug. 2022 Eventually their mission goes south when Lézardin, Emperor of Evil, decides to annihilate planet Earth. Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 22 June 2022 So…did anyone else see Dame Helen Mirren casually annihilate the red carpet at Cannes over the weekend? Elle Turner, Glamour, 31 May 2022 Hathaway might be the celebrity who bears the greatest burden of the internet’s capriciousness and moblike quickness to annihilate a person’s reputation based on vibes. Jenny Singer, Glamour, 24 May 2022 Doing these measurements presented a significant challenge, however, and not just because of the tendency of matter and antimatter to annihilate each other. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 16 Mar. 2022 Much of the Azov Battalion, including Mamont’s former platoon, was currently defending Mariupol against a Russian onslaught that threatened to annihilate it. Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 2 May 2022 See More
Dasl Yoon, WSJ, 9 Sep. 2022 In the face of an enemy that wished to annihilate Ukrainian identity, resistance had assumed a social as well as a martial form. Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 23 July 2022 Did Cologne annihilate the meaning of the abductions and the confiscations and the shootings and the gassings and the crematories? Cynthia Ozick, The Atlantic, 3 Aug. 2022 Eventually their mission goes south when Lézardin, Emperor of Evil, decides to annihilate planet Earth. Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 22 June 2022 So…did anyone else see Dame Helen Mirren casually annihilate the red carpet at Cannes over the weekend? Elle Turner, Glamour, 31 May 2022 Hathaway might be the celebrity who bears the greatest burden of the internet’s capriciousness and moblike quickness to annihilate a person’s reputation based on vibes. Jenny Singer, Glamour, 24 May 2022 Doing these measurements presented a significant challenge, however, and not just because of the tendency of matter and antimatter to annihilate each other. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 16 Mar. 2022 Much of the Azov Battalion, including Mamont’s former platoon, was currently defending Mariupol against a Russian onslaught that threatened to annihilate it. Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 2 May 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Late Latin annihilatus, past participle of annihilare to reduce to nothing, from Latin ad- + nihil nothing — more at nil
First Known Use
1525, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2a
Kids Definition
annihilate
verb
an·ni·hi·late ə-ˈnī-ə-ˌlāt
annihilated; annihilating
: to destroy completely
annihilating
verb
1
as in eradicating
to destroy all traces of the family's attempts to annihilate the roach population in their apartment had met with little success Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- eradicating
- erasing
- destroying
- abolishing
- obliterating
- exterminating
- extirpating
- expunging
- effacing
- demolishing
- liquidating
- shattering
- canceling
- killing
- wiping out
- cancelling
- ravaging
- dismantling
- decimating
- blotting out
- ruining
- wrecking
- devastating
- blacking out
- discarding
- consuming
- flattening
- smashing
- razing
- pulverizing
- rubbing out
- sweeping (away)
- devouring
- dissolving
- fragmenting
- stamping (out)
- wasting
- blasting
- dynamiting
- ejecting
- snuffing (out)
- atomizing
- expelling
- cleaning (up)
- splintering
- finishing
- rooting (out)
- dooming
- dashing
- zapping
- totaling
- excising
- tearing down
- jettisoning
- powdering
- ditching
- terminating
- ousting
- killing off
- totalling
- cutting
- mowing (down)
- blowing up
- throwing out
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- protecting
- preserving
- saving
- creating
- conserving
- constructing
- forming
- making
- building
- shaping
- forging
- restoring
- reconstructing
- repairing
- manufacturing
- framing
- rebuilding
- fixing
- fashioning
- renewing
- fabricating
- revamping
- renovating
- patching
- reconditioning
- mending
2
as in destroying
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of the tornado simply annihilated the family's home Synonyms & Similar Words
- destroying
- demolishing
- ruining
- shattering
- wrecking
- devastating
- smashing
- overcoming
- damaging
- extinguishing
- decimating
- pulverizing
- wasting
- vaporizing
- eroding
- ravaging
- killing
- razing
- crushing
- defeating
- marring
- dismantling
- crippling
- desolating
- nuking
- blasting
- removing
- totaling
- creaming
- subduing
- wracking
- conquering
- breaking
- tearing down
- pulling down
- injuring
- disintegrating
- obliterating
- eradicating
- mutilating
- doing in
- clobbering
- impairing
- dissolving
- harming
- spoiling
- licking
- exterminating
- totalling
- whipping
- trimming
- mastering
- rubbing out
- thrashing
- disfiguring
- surmounting
- slaughtering
- trouncing
- beating
- extirpating
- deteriorating
- dynamiting
- routing
- besting
- undoing
- assassinating
- mangling
- murdering
- defacing
- overbearing
- vitiating
- expunging
- plundering
- liquidating
- walloping
- gutting
- effacing
- massacring
- disassembling
- scouring
- drubbing
- executing
- despoiling
- unmaking
- trampling
- overmatching
- vandalizing
- dispatching
- slaying
- sacking
- pillaging
- looting
- trashing
- scotching
- zapping
- washing out
- blowing up
- butchering
- wiping out
- taking down
- skunking
- blotting out
- cutting down
- unbuilding
- felling
- triumphing (over)
- dilapidating
- killing off
- prevailing (over)
- winning (against)
- taking out
- sweeping (away)
- wearing (away)
- havocking
- stamping (out)
- snuffing (out)
- mowing (down)
- rooting (out)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- constructing
- creating
- building
- repairing
- erecting
- raising
- fixing
- producing
- rearing
- forming
- making
- establishing
- shaping
- inventing
- assembling
- protecting
- preserving
- forging
- fashioning
- organizing
- manufacturing
- constituting
- setting up
- saving
- mending
- framing
- revamping
- conserving
- restoring
- fabricating
- molding
- reconstructing
- instituting
- patching
- reconditioning
- rebuilding
- founding
- bringing about
- doctoring
- putting up
- remodeling
- fathering
- renovating
3
as in overcoming
to defeat by a large margin we didn't just win; we absolutely annihilated them! Synonyms & Similar Words
- overcoming
- burying
- whipping
- bombing
- clobbering
- flattening
- smothering
- beating
- destroying
- mastering
- upsetting
- thrashing
- conquering
- trouncing
- throwing
- trimming
- dusting
- routing
- overwhelming
- pasting
- creaming
- surpassing
- walloping
- topping
- smoking
- exceeding
- succeeding
- taking
- crushing
- skinning
- whopping
- drubbing
- sweeping
- dispatching
- tromping
- blowing away
- subjugating
- shellacking
- waxing
- whomping
- subduing
- vanquishing
- scoring
- capping
- whupping
- slaughtering
- whapping
- eating alive
- overthrowing
- skunking
- licking
- running rings around
- overpowering
- beating the pants off
- transcending
- surmounting
- snowing under
- eclipsing
- outdoing
- upending
- wiping the ground with
- outshining
- finishing
- running circles around
- besting
- wiping the floor with
- overmatching
- overbearing
- bettering
- outdistancing
- hurdling
- outstripping
- excelling
- flourishing
- knocking over
- breaking
- worsting
- knocking off
- overtopping
- outfighting
- sinking
- pipping
- triumphing (over)
- prevailing (over)
- winning (against)
- doing in
- nosing out
- acing (out)
- edging (out)
- second bottom
- second breath
- second cause
- second chamber
- second chance
- second childhood
- second classman
- Second Coming
- second cousin
- price tags
- price war
- price-cutter
- price-cutting
- price-earn
- price-earnings multiple
- price-earnings ratio
- price-fixing
- price-mark
- price-ring
- priceable
- priced
- priceite
- priceless
- pricelessly
- pricelessness