obliterate

Word family

o·blit·er·ate /əˈblɪtəreɪt/ verb [transitiveT]

1 DESTROYto destroy something completely so that nothing remains 完全毁灭〔不留痕迹〕

Hiroshima was nearly obliterated by the atomic bomb.

广岛几乎被原子弹夷为平地。

► see thesaurus at destroy

2 REMOVEto remove a thought, feeling, or memory from someone’s mind 忘却，抹去〔想法、感情或记忆〕

Nothing could obliterate the memory of those tragic events.

那些悲惨事件的记忆是无法抹去的。

3 COVERto cover something completely so that it cannot be seen 遮蔽；覆盖

Then the fog came down, obliterating everything.

随后大雾降下，笼罩了一切。

—obliteration /əˌblɪtəˈreɪʃən/ noun [uncountableU]

Examples from the Corpus

obliterate• Especially that part she wanted to obliterate.• Who among us is so righteous that a sane society would entrust her with the power to obliterate a city?• Frequent flooding eventually obliterated all traces of the community that used to live there.• His productivity and avidity for life could not obliterate an inner malaise.• Soon the screen was obliterated by the fuzz of burning light behind Ari's eyes.• Entire sections of the city were obliterated by the repeated bombing.• Large areas of the city were obliterated during World War II.• In addition, an AR-IS semiautomatic rifle with an obliterated serial number was found abandoned on the riverbank.• The thick smog hung in the air, obliterating the hills from view.• Perhaps he could obliterate the signature?• I had been given the power to obliterate, to steal a body from its grave and tear it to pieces.

Origin obliterate

(1500-1600) Latin past participle of obliterare, from litera “letter”

o·blit·er·ate verb

Chinese

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Corpus