EN

Synonyms for annihilate

22 synonyms
2 antonyms
1 meaning

verb

Most common

destroy eradicate exterminate obliterate

All synonyms

Verb

1. Eradicate — to reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate

eradicate, exterminate, destroy, obliterate, extirpate, kill, extinguish, eliminate, decimate, ruin, raze, uproot, slay, abrogate, demolish, devour, nullify, ravage, abolish, wipe out, efface, take

Antonyms

create, generate

All antonyms of annihilate →

Definitions

v. 1
To reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate.
An atom bomb can annihilate a whole city.

Related words

Word family: annihilable annihilation annihilative annihilator annul

Forms

Past participle: annihilated
e.g. annihilated → eradicated, exterminated, destroyed, obliterated…

Choose the right word

or Annihilate?

Annihilate, as a philosophical term, signifies to put absolutely out of existence.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

destroy Do you really think it will destroy my reputation?
eradicate We must eradicate the drug traffic, root and branch.
exterminate The insecticide promised to exterminate cockroaches.
obliterate It's time to obliterate those walls of yours!

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
annihilate		rising
destroy		steady
eradicate		steady
exterminate		steady
obliterate		steady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters: take¹, kill¹, ruin², slay¹, raze¹
6 letters: devour³, uproot², ravage², efface²
7 letters: destroy², abolish³, nullify³
8 letters: demolish³, decimate³, abrogate³
9 letters: eliminate⁴, eradicate⁴, extirpate³
10 letters: extinguish³, obliterate⁴
11 letters: exterminate⁴

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (ruin² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: annihiler
Italiano: annichilire
Deutsch: vernichten
Català: aniquilar