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annihilate

Syllabification: (an·ni·hi·late)
Pronunciation: /əˈnī-əˌlāt/

Translate annihilate | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of annihilate

verb

[with object]
  • destroy utterly; obliterate:a simple bomb of this type could annihilate them all a crusade to annihilate evil
  • defeat utterly:the stronger force annihilated its opponent virtually without loss
  • Physics convert (a subatomic particle) into radiant energy.

Derivatives

annihilator

Pronunciation: /-ˌlātər/

noun

annihilation

Pronunciation: /əˌnīəˈlāSHən/

noun

Origin:

late Middle English (originally as an adjective meaning 'destroyed, annulled'): from late Latin annihilatus 'reduced to nothing', from the verb annihilare, from ad- 'to' + nihil 'nothing'. The verb sense 'destroy utterly' dates from the mid 16th century

Remember that annihilate and the related word annihilation are spelled with a double n, then -ih-.he annihilated the two nobles whom he hated.

annihilate in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of annihilate in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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