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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; Middle English adnichilat(e) destroyed < Late Latin annihilātus brought to nothing, annihilated (past participle of annihilāre) (Latin an- an-2 + nihil nothing + -ātus -ate1)
1350–1400; Middle English adnichilat(e) destroyed < Late Latin annihilātus brought to nothing, annihilated (past participle of annihilāre) (Latin an- an-2 + nihil nothing + -ātus -ate1)
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
[uh-nahy-uh-ley-tiv, ‐uh-luh‐] , an·ni·hi·la·to·ry [uh-nahy-uh-luh-tawr-ee, ‐tohr-ee] , adjective un·an·ni·hi·lat·ed, adjective
un·an·ni·hi·la·tive, adjective
un·an·ni·hi·la·to·ry, adjective
Synonyms
1. ravage, devastate, desolate. 1, 2. smash, obliterate, demolish.
1. ravage, devastate, desolate. 1, 2. smash, obliterate, demolish.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Annihilate
is an SAT word you need to know.
So is conspirator. Does it mean:
| person who takes part in a scheme |
| to walk about or move from place to place |
Example Sentences
- Each seemed obsessed with but a single thought: to annihilate the other before the other annihilated him.
- Meanwhile, superhero films strangely hew to a purposeful realism that comics regularly annihilate.
- Each of the great powers now has enough nuclear weapons to annihilate the human race many times over.
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
annihilate
1520s, from an obsolete adj. meaning "reduced to nothing" (late 14c.), originally the pp. of a verb, anihil, from O.Fr. annichiler, from L.L. annihilare "to reduce to nothing," from L. ad- "to" + nihil "nothing" (see nil).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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