as in to eradicate
to destroy all traces of
in a stroke, the March snowstorm obliterated our hopes for an early spring
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of obliterate
As of Monday, the massive blazes across LA had killed at least 24 people, obliterated whole neighborhoods and burned thousands of homes and structures.
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Hayden Field, CNBC, 14 Jan. 2025
Questions abound around the wildfires still burning their way across Los Angeles, obliterating entire neighborhoods with an unfathomable speed and ferocity.
—Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2025
The outlet added to the list later in the day with further footage that showed million-dollar mansions owned by Billy Crystal, John Goodman and Eugene Levy obliterated to piles of debris.
—Brian Niemietz, The Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2025
Hughie Campbell is walking with his girlfriend down the street when suddenly she's obliterated by a speeding A-Train, who doesn't really seem that remorseful.
—Gord Magill, Newsweek, 22 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for obliterate 
Hayden Field, CNBC, 14 Jan. 2025
Questions abound around the wildfires still burning their way across Los Angeles, obliterating entire neighborhoods with an unfathomable speed and ferocity.
—Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2025
The outlet added to the list later in the day with further footage that showed million-dollar mansions owned by Billy Crystal, John Goodman and Eugene Levy obliterated to piles of debris.
—Brian Niemietz, The Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2025
Hughie Campbell is walking with his girlfriend down the street when suddenly she's obliterated by a speeding A-Train, who doesn't really seem that remorseful.
—Gord Magill, Newsweek, 22 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for obliterate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obliterate
Verb
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The theory holds that a community that rids itself of petty crime, such as shoplifting, vandalism and trespassing, can eradicate more serious crime because criminals won’t have anywhere to hide.—
JULIE K. BROWN,
Miami Herald,
23 Jan. 2025
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Its achievements include eradicating smallpox and bringing polio to the brink of elimination.—
Raul A. Reyes,
Newsweek,
22 Jan. 2025
Verb
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President Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship threatens to erase the futures of countless children—children whose potential will go untapped, whose contributions to art, science, and justice might never be realized.—
Paola Mendoza,
TIME,
24 Jan. 2025
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Despite that, Djokovic played well enough to erase a deficit and overcome Alcaraz in four sets.—
Howard Fendrich,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
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About a quarter century after slavery was abolished in Puerto Rico (1873), another Afro-Puerto Rican genre emerged known as the plena.—
Vanessa Diaz,
Rolling Stone,
20 Jan. 2025
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Trump said in December that the debt ceiling should be abolished, a position shared by some liberal lawmakers.—
Jeff Cox,
CNBC,
16 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The video was released Sunday by a law firm representing a woman whose house was destroyed by the fire and is suing Southern California Edison, the primary electrical utility for Los Angeles.—
Michelle Watson,
CNN,
27 Jan. 2025
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By the time the show opened on Friday, the Eaton Fire, which is now 95 percent contained, had burned over 14,000 acres and destroyed over 9,000 structures in Altadena, Pasadena, and other areas nearby.—
Harrison Jacobs,
ARTnews.com,
27 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near obliterate
Cite this Entry
“Obliterate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obliterate. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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