Adjacent Words

Obliterate definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

OBLIT'ERATE, v.t. [L. oblitero; ob and litera, letter.]
1. To efface; to erase or blot out any thing written; or to efface any thing engraved. A writing may be obliterated by erasure, by blotting, or by the slow operation of time or natural causes.
2. To efface; to wear out; to destroy by time or other means; as, to obliterate ideas or impressions; to obliterate the monuments of antiquity; to obliterate reproach.
3. To reduce to a very low or imperceptible state.
The torpor of the vascular system and obliterated pulse.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: reduced to nothingness [syn: blotted out, obliterate, obliterated] v
1: mark for deletion, rub off, or erase; "kill these lines in the President's speech" [syn: kill, obliterate, wipe out]
2: make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing; "a hidden message"; "a veiled threat" [syn: obscure, blot out, obliterate, veil, hide]
3: remove completely from recognition or memory; "efface the memory of the time in the camps" [syn: obliterate, efface]
4: do away with completely, without leaving a trace

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb (-ated; -ating) Etymology: Latin oblitteratus, past participle of oblitterare, from ob- ob- + littera letter Date: 1600 1. a. to remove utterly from recognition or memory b. to remove from existence ; destroy utterly all trace, indication, or significance of c. to cause to disappear (as a bodily part or a scar) or collapse (as a duct conveying body fluid) ; remove 4 <a blood vessel obliterated by inflammation> 2. to make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or wearing away 3. cancel 4 • obliteration noun • obliterator noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 a blot out; efface, erase, destroy. b leave no clear traces of. 2 deface (a postage stamp etc.) to prevent further use. Derivatives: obliteration n. obliterative adj. obliterator n. Etymology: L obliterare (as OB-, litera LETTER)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Obliterate Ob*lit"er*ate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Obliterated; p. pr. & vb. n. Obliterating.] [L. obliteratus, p. p. of obliterare to obliterate; ob (see Ob-) + litera, littera, letter. See Letter.] 1. To erase or blot out; to efface; to render undecipherable, as a writing. 2. To wear out; to remove or destroy utterly by any means; to render imperceptible; as. to obliterate ideas; to obliterate the monuments of antiquity. The harsh and bitter feelings of this or that experience are slowly obliterated. --W. Black.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Obliterate Ob*lit"er*ate, a. (Zo["o]l.) Scarcely distinct; -- applied to the markings of insects.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(obliterates, obliterating, obliterated) 1. If something obliterates an object or place, it destroys it completely. Their warheads are enough to obliterate the world several times over... VERB: V n • obliteration ...the obliteration of three isolated rainforests. N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n 2. If you obliterate something such as a memory, emotion, or thought, you remove it completely from your mind. (LITERARY) There was time enough to obliterate memories of how things once were for him. = eradicate VERB: V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Efface, erase, expunge, cancel, rub out, rub off, blot out, scratch out, wipe out, strike out. 2. Wear out, destroy.

Moby Thesaurus

absolve, annihilate, black out, blot, blot out, cancel, consign to oblivion, cross out, declare a moratorium, dele, delete, destroy, efface, eliminate, eradicate, erase, expunge, exterminate, extirpate, forgive, kill, nullify, raze, rub out, rule out, scratch, scratch out, sponge, sponge out, strike off, strike out, wipe out, write off