obliterate

Meaning

Verb

1. (transitive) To destroy (someone or something) completely, leaving no trace; to annihilate, to wipe out.
2. (transitive) To hide (something) by covering it; to conceal, to obscure.
3. (also, figuratively, transitive) To make (a drawing, text which is printed or written, etc.) indecipherable, either by erasing or obscuring it; to blot out, to efface, to delete.
4. (transitive) To impair the function and/or structure of (a body cavity, vessel, etc.) by ablating or occluding it (in the latter case, chiefly by filling it with tissue).
5. (transitive) To cancel (a postage stamp) with a postmark so it cannot be reused.
6. (intransitive) To be destroyed completely, leaving no trace.
7. (intransitive) Of a body cavity, vessel, etc.: to close up or fill with tissue; of perfusion or a pulse: to cease owing to obstruction.

Adj

1. (obsolete) Completely destroyed or erased; effaced, obliterated.
2. (obsolete, rare) Of markings on an insect: difficult to distinguish from the background; faint, indistinct.

Synonyms

erase

destroy

wipe out

efface

blot out

eradicate

eliminate

annihilate

expunge

cancel

exterminate

obliterated

delete

kill

🔪🩸👤

strike out

obscure

extinguish

veil

hide

cross out

confute

conceal

blotted out

disprove

scribble

refute

rub out

destruct

knock out

cross off

cripple

cover

bonk

consume

blow out

beat

clothe

cloak

case

blot

bathe

drag down

carpet

dismantled

cap

drape

block out

disguise

encase

die out

Translations

borrar

auslöschen

uitwissen

oblitérer

σβήνω

apagar

enfreindre

obliterar

abroger

εξαλείφω

effacer

éradiquer

obliterar

cancellare

Pronounced as (IPA)

/əˈblɪtəɹeɪt/

Etymology

Cognate with Catalan: obliterar

Cognate with Middle French: oblitérer

Cognate with French: oblitérer

Cognate with Portuguese: obliterar

Cognate with Spanish: obliterar

In summary

PIE word
*h₁epi
(start of 17th century) From earlier obliterat, learned borrowing from Latin obliterātus, oblitterātus (“having been blotted out, effaced, erased; having been forgotten”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix, of participial origin)). Obliterātus and oblitterātus are respectively the perfect passive participles of obliterō and oblitterō (“to blot out, efface, erase, obliterate; to cause to be forgotten”), probably either:
* from ob- (prefix meaning ‘against; towards’) + littera (“letter of the alphabet; (metonymically) handwriting”) (further etymology unknown); or
* from oblītus (“disregarded, neglected; forgotten”), influenced by littera. Oblītus is the perfect passive participle of oblinō (“to daub over, besmear”), from ob- + possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lengʷʰ- (“not heavy, light; brief; swift”).
Cognates
* Catalan obliterar (“to erase; to cancel (a stamp); to close up or fill (a body cavity, vessel, etc.)”)
* Middle French oblitérer (modern French oblitérer (“to cause (memories) to fade; to block, obstruct; to cancel (a stamp, ticket, etc.) so it cannot be reused”))
* Portuguese obliterar (“to destroy completely; to erase”)
* Spanish obliterar (“to destroy completely; to erase”)