Dictionary

annihilate en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /əˈnaɪ.ə.leɪt/ (UK)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin annihilātus, perfect passive participle of annihilō (“to reduce to nothing”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from ad (“to”) + nihil (“nothing”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). See also an-.

Meanings

1. To reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate.
   • But eagerness in this case, as in most others, annihilated its own delight; down came the tottering height, while the disappointed builder found relief for his sorrow in anger—sorrow's best remedy after all. 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 237:
   • An atom bomb can annihilate a whole city.
2. (particle) To react with antimatter, producing gamma radiation and (for higher-mass reactants, especially composite particles such as protons) lighter particles (such as pions, muons, and neutrinos).
3. (archaic) To treat as worthless, to vilify.
   • of all the opinions which Antiquity hath had of men in gross, those which I most willingly embrace, and whereon I take most hold, are such as most vilifie, condemne, and annihilate us. 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 17, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
4. (transitive) To render null and void; to abrogate.
   • The official Soviet criticism of 'bourgeois philosophy' took for granted that the latter in its various forms was a repetition of the idealist nonsense of Mach and Avenarius, which had been annihilated by Lenin's refutation. 1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume II: The Golden Age, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozwój (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 458:
5. To cause to become zero by means of an annihilator operator.

Forms

Antonyms

generate (antonym(s) of “to reduce to nothing”) · create (antonym(s) of “to reduce to nothing”)

Deriveds

self-annihilate · coannihilate · annihilator method

Relateds

nihilist · null · annihilable · annihilation · nullify · nihilism · annihilator · annihilative · annul

Synonyms

benothing (to reduce to nothing) · destroy (to reduce to nothing) · eradicate (to reduce to nothing) · extinguish (to reduce to nothing)

Translations (88)

it annientare (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · bg анихилирам ((physics) to react with antimatter) · pl unicestwić (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · az yox etmək (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · ota قازیمق (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · ca anul·lar ((mathematics) to cause to become zero) · nl vernietigen (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · pl anihilować ((physics) to react with antimatter) · ja 殲滅する (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · fr anéantir (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · ru уничтожа́ть (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · es anihilar (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · it annichilire (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · fr annihiler ((mathematics) to cause to become zero) · fr annihiler (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · kw gordhristrui (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · de vernichten (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · fi hävittää (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · nb annihilere ((physics) to react with antimatter) · la annihilō (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · eo neniigi (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · fa نابود کردن (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · az məhv etmək (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · ckb لەناوبردن (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · th ประลัย ((physics) to react with antimatter) · ru уничто́жить (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · uk зни́щити (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · fi annihiloitua ((physics) to react with antimatter) · nb tilintetgjøre (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · tr mahvetmek (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · mi whakamōtī (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · bg унищожавам (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · pt anular ((mathematics) to cause to become zero) · ja 撲滅する (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · ja 根絶する (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · be зні́шчыць (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · sv tillintetgöra (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · ja 絶滅させる (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · mi urupatu (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · da annihilere (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · th ทำลายล้าง (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · cs vyhladit (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · sv förinta (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · ar أَفْنَى (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · uk зни́щувати (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · th ถอนรากถอนโคน (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · be зніштажа́ць (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · es aniquilar (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · is tortíma (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · he חִסֵּל (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · bg изтребвам (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · ru аннигилировать ((physics) to react with antimatter) · hu megsemmisít (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · be знішто́жыць (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · ota افنا ایتمك (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · cmn 毁灭 (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · ml ഉന്മൂലനം ചെയ്യുക (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · pl anihilować (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · ru истребля́ть (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · pt aniquilar (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · tr yok etmek (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · la dēleō (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · el εκμηδενίζω (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · ro anihila (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · he הִשְׁמִיד (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · ml നശിപ്പിക്കുക (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · cmn 殲滅 /歼灭 (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · cmn 湮灭 ((physics) to react with antimatter) · sv förgöra (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · cy difodi (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · yi פֿאַרטיליקן (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · ru истреби́ть (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · be знішча́ць (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · nb annihilere (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · fa از بین بردن (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · ca anihilar (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · fr réduire à néant (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · ang adilgian (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · pt aniquilar ((physics) to react with antimatter) · pl unicestwiać (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · io nihiligar (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · sv utplåna (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · th ทำลาย (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · cy diddymu (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · ja 根刮ぎにする (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · ca aniquilar (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · th กวาดล้าง (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate) · da tilintetgøre (to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate)