1
as in to eradicate
to destroy all traces of
the family's attempts to annihilate the roach population in their apartment had met with little success
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to destroy
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of
the tornado simply annihilated the family's home
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to overcome
to defeat by a large margin
we didn't just win; we absolutely annihilated them!
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of annihilate
Invasive species such as goats have annihilated local vegetation.
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Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Dec. 2024
As a result, major powers can reliably maintain nuclear forces that can survive all-out surprise attack by all other powers and inflict unacceptable—annihilating—damage in retaliation.
—Shane Croucher, Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2024
Technology didn’t just enable us to annihilate ourselves.
—Adam Kirsch, The Atlantic, 31 Dec. 2024
It has been sanctioned by the UN Security Council nine times for its nuclear activities and routinely makes outlandish threats about annihilating South Korea and its allies.
—Robert E. Kelly, Foreign Affairs, 30 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for annihilate 
Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Dec. 2024
As a result, major powers can reliably maintain nuclear forces that can survive all-out surprise attack by all other powers and inflict unacceptable—annihilating—damage in retaliation.
—Shane Croucher, Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2024
Technology didn’t just enable us to annihilate ourselves.
—Adam Kirsch, The Atlantic, 31 Dec. 2024
It has been sanctioned by the UN Security Council nine times for its nuclear activities and routinely makes outlandish threats about annihilating South Korea and its allies.
—Robert E. Kelly, Foreign Affairs, 30 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for annihilate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for annihilate
Verb
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Israel then vowed to eradicate Hamas and have since devastated the Palestinian territory.John Mac Ghlionn, Newsweek, 14 Jan. 2025
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Killing female deer weakens a herd’s ability to grow, and officials thought that thinning out deer herds was the key to eradicating the disease and preserving wild herd health.Sophie Hartley, Scientific American, 10 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Now, after two major wildfires have destroyed thousands of homes and left at least two dozen dead in and around Los Angeles, the state’s wildfire fund would face its first major test if another utility is found liable for sparking the blazes.Jenny Jarvie, Los Angeles Times, 15 Jan. 2025
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The fourth device was located at the marsh and destroyed by the Stamford bomb squad.Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 15 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The Lunar Owls overcame a six-point deficit and ended up winning the league’s first game 84-80 after Diggins-Smith hit a game-ending 3-pointer.Sabreena Merchant, The Athletic, 17 Jan. 2025
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Both quarterbacks, roommates at the Manning Passing Academy, overcame difficult, and certainly shocking, defeats on their way to leading Ohio State and Notre Dame, respectively, to Monday’s CFP national championship game in Atlanta.Tom Layberger, Forbes, 17 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Nearby Altadena, a historically largely Black neighborhood, has essentially been erased from the map.Meagan Jordan, Rolling Stone, 15 Jan. 2025
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The odds are that the response will sit in an internal digital memory buffer for a while and not be immediately erased or discarded.Lance Eliot, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The plan is a major change for Jackson Memorial Hospital, which would demolish two office buildings across from a Metrorail station in 2027 to make way for affordable and workforce housing in two towers filled with shops, a hotel and more than 800 apartments.Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 10 Jan. 2025
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At least one of the buildings was soon to be demolished altogether, its red-brick walls dumped into its 1921 foundation.Jon Marcus, NPR, 8 Jan. 2025
Verb
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In São Paulo, where Eunice Paiva, who died in 2018 at 89, is buried, her tomb has reportedly become a pilgrimage site for admirers of this woman who fought for Brazil’s democracy.Alexander Durie, TIME, 7 Jan. 2025
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Carter will be buried next to his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, who died on Nov. 19, 2023, at the age of 96.Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 7 Jan. 2025
Verb
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That loophole remained open following the most recent U.S. election, which saw California voters shooting down Proposition 6, which would have abolished prison labor.Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 11 Jan. 2025
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So legislation abolishing the department (already written by GOP Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota) would have to pass through budget reconciliation, which lets certain legislation pass with a mere majority in the Senate.Dylan Matthews, Vox, 2 Jan. 2025
Verb
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However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.Don Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 9 Jan. 2025
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Well, Neptune and his Wildcats might just be ruining the convenient narrative.CJ Moore, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near annihilate
Cite this Entry
“Annihilate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/annihilate. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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