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annihilate

 - 3 dictionary results

an⋅ni⋅hi⋅late

  [uh-nahy-uh-leyt]
Use annihilate in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -lat⋅ed, -lat⋅ing.
1. to reduce to utter ruin or nonexistence; destroy utterly: The heavy bombing almost annihilated the city.
2. to destroy the collective existence or main body of; wipe out: to annihilate an army.
3. to annul; make void: to annihilate a law.
4. to cancel the effect of; nullify.
5. to defeat completely; vanquish: Our basketball team annihilated the visiting team.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME adnichilat(e) destroyed < LL annihilātus brought to nothing, annihilated (ptp. of annihilāre) (L an- an- 2 + nihil nothing + -ātus -ate 1 )

Related forms:
an⋅ni⋅hi⋅la⋅tive  [uh-nahy-uh-ley-tiv, ‑uh-luh‑] , an⋅ni⋅hi⋅la⋅to⋅ry  [uh-nahy-uh-luh-tawr-ee, ‑tohr-ee] , adjective

Synonyms:
1. ravage, devastate, desolate. 1, 2. smash, obliterate, demolish.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To annihilate
an·ni·hi·late   (ə-nī'ə-lāt')   
v.   an·ni·hi·lat·ed, an·ni·hi·lat·ing, an·ni·hi·lates

v.   tr.

    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; see ne in Indo-European roots.]
an·ni'hi·la·bil'i·ty (-lə-bĭl'ĭ-tē) n., an·ni'hi·la·ble (-lə-bəl) adj., an·ni'hi·la'tor n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

annihilate 
1525, from an obsolete adj. meaning "reduced to nothing" (1388), originally the pp. of a verb, anihil, from O.Fr. annihiler, from L.L. annihilare "to reduce to nothing," from L. ad- "to" + nihil "nothing" (see nil).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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