obliterate

English

Etymology

From Latin oblitterātus, perfect passive participle of oblitterō (“blot out”), from oblinō (“smear over”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əbˈlɪtəɹeɪt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Verb

obliterate (third-person singular simple present obliterates, present participle obliterating, simple past and past participle obliterated)

1. To remove completely, leaving no trace; to wipe out; to destroy.
   • William Black (1841-1898)

     The harsh and bitter feelings of this or that experience are slowly obliterated.

   • 1907, Robert William Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set (Project Gutenberg; EBook #14852), New York, N.Y.: A. L. Burt Company, published 1 February 2005 (Project Gutenberg version), OCLC 4241346:

     Elbows almost touching they leaned at ease, idly reading the almost obliterated lines engraved there. ¶ "I never understood it," she observed, lightly scornful. "What occult meaning has a sun-dial for the spooney? I'm sure I don't want to read riddles in a strange gentleman's optics."

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:destroy

Translations

to remove completely, leaving no trace; to wipe out; to destroy

• Dutch: uitwissen (nl)
• Finnish: tuhota (fi), hävittää (fi)
• French: annihiler (fr)
• German: auslöschen
• Hungarian: eltöröl (hu), kiirt (hu)
• Italian: obliterare (it), annullare (it), spazzare (it)

• Latin: oblitterō
• Maori: urupatu
• Portuguese: aniquilar (pt), obliterar (pt)
• Russian: уничто́жить (ru) pf (uničtóžitʹ)
• Spanish: remover (es), borrar (es), destruir (es), obliterar (es), arrasar (es)
• Swedish: utplåna (sv)

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Italian

Verb

obliterate

1. second-person plural present indicative of obliterare
2. second-person plural imperative of obliterare
3. feminine plural of obliterato

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Latin

Verb

obliterāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of obliterō