Definition of 'annihilate'
Word forms: 3rd person singular present tense annihilates
, present participle annihilating
, past tense, past participle annihilated
1. verb
To annihilate something means to destroy it completely.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Video: pronunciation of
annihilate
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
Word Frequency
annihilate in British English
verb
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
annihilative (anˈnihilative)
adjective
annihilator (anˈnihiˌlator)
noun
Word origin
C16: from Late Latin annihilāre to bring to nothing, from Latin nihil nothing
Word Frequency
annihilate in American English
verb transitiveWord forms: anˈnihiˌlated or anˈnihiˌlating
2.
to consider or cause to be of no importance or without effect; nullify
to annihilate another's ambition
3.
to kill
SIMILAR WORDS: deˈstroy
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
annihilation (anˌnihiˈlation)
noun
annihilative (anˈnihiˌlative)
adjective
annihilator (anˈnihiˌlator)
noun
Word origin
< LL(Ec) annihilatus, pp. of annihilare, to bring to nothing < L ad, to + nihil, nothing
Word Frequency
annihilate in American English
(əˈnaiəˌleit)
transitive verbWord forms: -lated, -lating
SYNONYMS 1. ravage, devastate, desolate. 1, 2. smash, obliterate, demolish.1.
The heavy bombing almost annihilated the city
4.
to cancel the effect of; nullify
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
annihilative (əˈnaiəˌleitɪv, -ələ-) annihilatory (əˈnaiələˌtɔri, -ˌtouri) adjective
Word origin
[1350–1400; ME adnichilat(e) destroyed ‹ LL annihilātus brought to nothing, annihilated (ptp. of annihilāre) (L an- an-2 + nihil nothing + -ātus -ate1)]Examples of 'annihilate' in a sentence
annihilate
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In other languages
annihilate
British English: annihilate
VERB /əˈnaɪɪleɪt/
To annihilate something means to destroy it completely.
There are lots of ways of annihilating the planet.
- American English: annihilate /əˈnaɪɪleɪt/
- Brazilian Portuguese: aniquilar
- Chinese: 毁灭
- European Spanish: aniquilar
- French: anéantir
- German: vernichten
- Italian: annientare
- Japanese: 全滅させる
- Korean: 완전히 파괴하다
- European Portuguese: aniquilar
- Latin American Spanish: aniquilar
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Definition of annihilate from the Collins English Dictionary
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