annihilate

verb

an·ni·hi·late ə-ˈnī-ə-ˌlāt

annihilated; annihilating

transitive verb

: to cause to cease to exist : to do away with entirely so that nothing remains

: to destroy a considerable part of

Bombs annihilated the city.

The enemy troops were annihilated.

: to defeat overwhelmingly : rout

annihilated the visitors 56–0

: to cause to be of no effect : nullify

a right to freedom that cannot be annihilated

: to destroy the substance or force of

Fear can annihilate one's confidence.

: to regard as of no consequence

: to cause (something, such as a particle and its antiparticle) to vanish or cease to exist by coming together and changing into other forms of energy (such as photons)

matter and antimatter annihilate each other

intransitive verb

of a particle and its antiparticle : to vanish or cease to exist by coming together and changing into other forms of energy (such as photons)

annihilatory

ə-ˈnī-ə-lə-ˌtȯr-ē

adjective

Example Sentences

The enemy troops were annihilated. He annihilated his opponent in the last election.

Recent Examples on the Web With a buzzsaw tenor that dispatches punchlines as deftly as Jay-Z spits verses, every joke seemed to annihilate the eager L.A. crowd.

Nate Jackson, Los Angeles Times, 18 Nov. 2022 Kyiv has accused Russia of seeking to annihilate the country’s energy system as colder weather sets in because the Kremlin’s military is facing a litany of setbacks on the battlefield.

Yuliya Talmazan, NBC News, 20 Oct. 2022 Then the junta began to annihilate them, to just murder people, ordering soldiers to fire into the crowds with live ammunition.

Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 27 July 2022 This is the city, of fierce independence and stubborn inclusiveness, that symbolizes all Mr. Putin wants to annihilate in Ukraine.

New York Times, 19 Aug. 2022 An evildoer human tells the AI to annihilate all of humanity.

Lance Eliot, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2022 In recent months, the Kim regime’s rhetoric has become more bellicose by threatening to annihilate South Korea’s military and ridiculing Seoul’s efforts to improve ties.

Dasl Yoon, WSJ, 9 Sep. 2022 In the face of an enemy that wished to annihilate Ukrainian identity, resistance had assumed a social as well as a martial form.

Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 23 July 2022 Did Cologne annihilate the meaning of the abductions and the confiscations and the shootings and the gassings and the crematories?

Cynthia Ozick, The Atlantic, 3 Aug. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'annihilate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.