# annihilate

> English word · Verb · IPA /əˈnaɪ.ə.leɪt/ · frequency rank #33,513

## Definitions
1. To reduce to nothing, to destroy, to eradicate.
2. 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. To treat as worthless, to vilify.
4. To render null and void; to abrogate.
5. To cause to become zero by means of an annihilator operator

## 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).

## Easily confused with
- **annihilated** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/annihilate-vs-annihilated)

## Common misspellings (12)
`anihilate`, `aninhilate`, `annhiilate`, `annihhilate`, `annihialte`, `annihilaet`, `annihilatte`, `annihillate`, `annihiltae`, `annihliate`, `anniihlate`, `nanihilate`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/annihilate