annihilate

(ə-nī'ə-lāt')

v., -lat·ed, -lat·ing, -lates.

v.tr.

1. 1. To destroy completely: The naval force was annihilated during the attack.
   2. To reduce to nonexistence.
   3. To defeat decisively; vanquish.
2. To nullify or render void; abolish.

v.intr. Physics
To participate in annihilation, as an electron and a positron do.

[Late Latin annihilāre, annihilāt- : Latin ad-, ad- + Latin nihil, nothing.]

annihilability an·ni'hi·la·bil'i·ty (-lə-bĭl'ĭ-tē) n.
annihilable an·ni'hi·la·ble (-lə-bəl) adj.
annihilator an·ni'hi·la'tor n.

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verb

1. To destroy all traces of: abolish, blot out, clear, eradicate, erase, exterminate, extinguish, extirpate, kill, liquidate, obliterate, remove, root, rub out, snuff out, stamp out, uproot, wipe out. Idioms: do away with, make an end of, put an end to. See help/harm/harmless, make/unmake.
2. To kill savagely and indiscriminately: butcher, decimate, massacre, slaughter. See crimes, help/harm/harmless, make/unmake.
3. To render totally ineffective by decisive defeat: crush, drub, overpower, overwhelm, smash, steamroller, thrash, trounce, vanquish. Informal massacre, wallop. Slang clobber, cream, shellac, smear. See win/lose/recovery.
4. To put an end to, especially formally and with authority: abolish, abrogate, annul, cancel, invalidate, negate, nullify, set aside, vitiate, void. Law extinguish. See continue/stop/pause.

v

Definition: destroy completely
Antonyms: help, preserve, revive, save

[ǝܒnīǝܖlāt]

ǝˈnīǝܖlāt v. 1. destroy utterly; obliterate: a simple bomb of this type could annihilate them all | a crusade to annihilate evil.

2. defeat utterly: the stronger force annihilated its opponent virtually without loss.

annihilator -ܖlāṭǝr n. annihilation ǝܖnīǝˈlā˜ǝn n.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

IN BRIEF: To completely destroy.

The roach spray promised to annihilate the insects.

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For a list of words related to annihilate, see:

• Violent Actions - annihilate: destroy completely, make extinct

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See words rhyming with "annihilate."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Annihilate.

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - tilintetgøre, knuse, udslette
v. intr. - tilintetgøres, knuses, udslettes

Nederlands (Dutch)
vernietigen, volkomen verslaan, ontkrachten

Français (French)
v. tr. - annihiler, anéantir, supprimer
v. intr. - être annihilé, être anéanti

Deutsch (German)
v. - vernichten, zerstören

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - εξοντώνω, εξολοθρεύω, εκμηδενίζω

Italiano (Italian)
annientare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - aniquilar, anular, destruir completamente

Русский (Russian)
уничтожать

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - destruir, aniquilar, deshacer, exterminar
v. intr. - destruirse, aniquilarse, deshacerse, exterminarse, causar la destrucción o el aniquilamiento de

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - förstöra, förinta

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
歼灭, 消灭, 毁灭, 彻底击溃, 废止, 使无效, 湮灰, 湮没

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 殲滅, 消滅, 毀滅, 徹底擊潰, 廢止, 使無效
v. intr. - 湮灰, 湮沒

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 을 파괴하다
v. intr. - 대소멸하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 全滅させる, 消滅させる, 無効にする, 無視する, 消滅する, 絶滅させる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يبطل, يبيد‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮השמיד, הרס, עשה לחסר-כוח, הביס לחלוטין‬
v. intr. - ‮הושמד‬

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