Synonyms of annihilate

annihilate

verb

ə-ˈnī-ə-ˌlāt 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• eradicate
• erase
• abolish
• destroy
• obliterate
• exterminate
• expunge
• wipe out
• liquidate
• efface
• demolish
• extirpate
• cancel
• sweep (away)
• shatter
• clean (up)
• kill
• blot out
• stamp (out)
• dismantle
• ruin
• root (out)
• devastate
• snuff (out)
• consume
• discard
• ravage
• decimate
• rub out
• flatten
• black out
• dissolve
• wreck
• fragment
• smash
• waste
• devour
• tear down
• expel
• mow (down)
• raze
• eject
• total
• powder
• pulverize
• finish
• kill off
• terminate
• blow up
• dash
• blast
• ditch
• oust
• doom
• excise
• atomize
• dynamite
• zap
• jettison
• throw out
• splinter
• cut

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• protect
• preserve
• save
• conserve
• create
• build
• make
• construct
• form
• manufacture
• shape
• forge
• fabricate
• restore
• rebuild
• reconstruct
• frame
• repair
• renew
• fix
• patch
• fashion
• mend
• renovate
• recondition
• revamp

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• destroy
• demolish
• ruin
• devastate
• shatter
• wreck
• smash
• overcome
• damage
• decimate
• extinguish
• pulverize
• waste
• vaporize
• erode
• raze
• ravage
• kill
• desolate
• cripple
• defeat
• cream
• tear down
• total
• dismantle
• crush
• mar
• pull down
• subdue
• nuke
• rub out
• remove
• injure
• conquer
• break
• wrack
• do in
• blast
• best
• eradicate
• disintegrate
• obliterate
• spoil
• impair
• dissolve
• surmount
• harm
• mutilate
• lick
• exterminate
• win (against)
• disfigure
• prevail (over)
• master
• deteriorate
• trim
• triumph (over)
• assassinate
• rout
• vitiate
• beat
• extirpate
• slaughter
• trounce
• whip
• deface
• thrash
• wear (away)
• slay
• clobber
• blow up
• expunge
• sweep (away)
• liquidate
• undo
• dynamite
• scour
• mangle
• disassemble
• overmatch
• scotch
• overbear
• wipe out
• efface
• unmake
• execute
• wash out
• plunder
• despoil
• trample
• sack
• havoc
• fell
• drub
• murder
• blot out
• take down
• gut
• massacre
• cut down
• zap
• pillage
• kill off
• loot
• snuff (out)
• wallop
• stamp (out)
• dispatch
• vandalize
• butcher
• mow (down)
• take out
• skunk
• root (out)
• unbuild
• dilapidate
• trash

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• build
• construct
• raise
• create
• set up
• erect
• put up
• repair
• produce
• fix
• rear
• patch
• make
• establish
• invent
• form
• protect
• assemble
• manufacture
• mend
• found
• constitute
• preserve
• organize
• shape
• save
• forge
• fabricate
• recondition
• bring about
• mold
• conserve
• institute
• revamp
• restore
• frame
• fashion
• rebuild
• reconstruct
• doctor
• father
• renovate
• remodel

3

as in to overcome

to defeat by a large margin

we didn't just win; we absolutely annihilated them!

Synonyms & Similar Words

• overcome
• bury
• bomb
• whip
• throw
• flatten
• trounce
• smother
• overwhelm
• beat
• clobber
• destroy
• master
• upset
• rout
• blow away
• conquer
• dust
• trim
• skin
• thrash
• surpass
• cream
• take
• snow under
• smoke
• paste
• exceed
• whup
• succeed
• top
• wallop
• sweep
• drub
• wax
• subdue
• subjugate
• shellac
• vanquish
• run rings around
• eat alive
• crush
• beat the pants off
• dispatch
• whomp
• worst
• wipe the floor with
• score
• run circles around
• best
• whap
• wipe the ground with
• overthrow
• surmount
• skunk
• whop
• tromp
• overpower
• slaughter
• better
• outdo
• lick
• transcend
• overmatch
• win (against)
• cap
• prevail (over)
• overbear
• outshine
• upend
• triumph (over)
• outstrip
• outdistance
• finish
• eclipse
• hurdle
• knock over
• excel
• flourish
• overtop
• ace (out)
• edge (out)
• outfight
• knock off
• break
• sink
• pip
• nose out
• do in

Examples of annihilate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Her despair is so acute that the looming apocalypse, far from being cause for alarm, becomes something paradoxically and ecstatically beautiful—an annihilating work of art. —The New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2024

Fueling it all is the ongoing dehumanization of Palestinian people, with far-reaching ripple effects, including right here in New York, where our governor recently made light of annihilating Gaza. —Audrey Sasson, New York Daily News, 21 Feb. 2024

For years, the actress, has been known to annihilate the red carpet in either sultry or glamorous looks. —Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 30 July 2024

Ultimately, the war was won not predominantly on the eastern front, where the Red Army suffered unfathomable casualties to annihilate the Wehrmacht, but on the seas and in the air. —Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 6 Apr. 2022