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v. an·ni·hi·lat·ed, an·ni·hi·lat·ing, an·ni·hi·lates v.tr. 1. a. To destroy completely: The naval force was annihilated during the attack. b. To reduce to nonexistence: "He had not just to hide his hunger; so as not to go mad he had to annihilate it" (Philip Roth). c. To defeat decisively: annihilated the league champions in the playoffs. 2. Physics To convert (a subatomic particle) to energy or high-energy particles by annihilation. v.intr. 1. To be completely destructive. 2. Physics To participate in annihilation. Used of particles and antiparticles. [Late Latin annihilāre, annihilāt- : Latin ad-, ad- + Latin nihil, nothing; see ne in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] an·ni′hi·la·bili·ty (-lə-bĭlĭ-tē) n. an·nihi·la·ble (-lə-bəl) adj. an·nihi·la′tor n. Synonyms: annihilate, exterminate, extinguish, obliterate These verbs mean to destroy completely. Annihilate often implies that the destruction is so severe that nothing is left or salvagable: The cannon blasts annihilated the enemy's fortifications. Exterminate emphasizes the elimination of that which is considered undesirable, especially by killing: "The land had been rendered treeless, as though a tree were a parasite that needed to be exterminated, its stump uprooted and purged" (Madhusree Mukerjee). Extinguish is to put an end to something or to make something extinct: The teacher's criticism of my essay extinguished my enthusiasm for the project. To obliterate is to leave no trace of that which is destroyed: The virus obliterates all data on the hard drive of any computer it infects. |
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