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obliterate

 [uh-blit-uh-reyt]   Origin

ob·lit·er·ate

   [uh-blit-uh-reyt]
verb (used with object), -at·ed, -at·ing.
1.
to remove or destroy all traces of; do away with; destroy completely.
2.
to blot out or render undecipherable (writing, marks, etc.); efface.
Origin:
1590–1600; < Latin oblitterātus (past participle of oblitterāre, efface, cause to be forgotten), equivalent to ob- ob- + litter(a) letter + -ātus -ate1

Related forms
ob·lit·er·a·ble  [uh-blit-er-uh-buhl] , adjective
o·blit·er·a·tor, noun
half-ob·lit·er·at·ed, adjective
un·ob·lit·er·at·ed, adjective

Synonyms
2. expunge. See cancel.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Obliterate is one of our favorite verbs.
So is fletcherise. Does it mean:
to spend time idly; loaf.
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
obliterate (əˈblɪtəˌreɪt)
 
—vb
(tr) to destroy every trace of; wipe out completely
 
[C16: from Latin oblitterāre to erase, from ob- out + littera letter]
 
oblite'ration
 
—n
 
o'bliterative
 
—adj
 
o'bliterator
 
—n

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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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

obliterate
c.1600, from L. obliteratus, pp. of obliterare "cause to disappear, efface," from ob "against" + littera (also litera) "letter, script" (see letter); abstracted from phrase literas scribere "write across letters, strike out letters."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

obliterate o·blit·er·ate (ə-blĭt'ə-rāt', ō-blĭt'-)
v. o·blit·er·at·ed, o·blit·er·at·ing, o·blit·er·ates

  1. To remove an organ or another body part completely, as by surgery, disease, or radiation.

  2. To blot out, especially through filling of a natural space by fibrosis or inflammation.

o·blit'er·a'tion n.
o·blit'er·a'tive (-ə-rā'tĭv, -ər-ə-tĭv) adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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