View synonyms for annihilation

annihilation

[ uh-nahy-uh-ley-shuhn ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

an act or instance of annihilating, or of completely destroying or defeating someone or something:
the brutal annihilation of millions of people.
the state of being annihilated; total destruction; extinction:
fear of nuclear annihilation.
Physics.
1. Also called pair annihilation. the process in which a particle and antiparticle unite, annihilate each other, and produce one or more photons. Compare positronium.
2. the conversion of rest mass into energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation.

First recorded in 1630–40; from French or directly from Late Latin annihilātiōn- (stem of annihilātiō ); annihilate, -ion

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