obliterate

/əˈblɪtəɹeɪt/

//əˈblɪtəɹeɪt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"obliterate" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“obliterate” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #37,601. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#37,601
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To destroy (someone or something) completely, leaving no trace; to annihilate, to wipe out.

Corpus desk

Index EN-obliterate · obliterate · English

obliterate · rank #37,601 · 14 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #37,601
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH Oaxaca

Nearest frequency peer: Oaxaca (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “obliterate”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “obliterate” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

obliterate vs obliterated
91% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for obliterate
PropertyValue
Headwordobliterate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/əˈblɪtəɹeɪt/
Letters10
Frequency rank#37,601
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “obliterate”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).obliteratelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Oaxaca” (#37,600), “OCR” (#37,602), “oeuvre” (#37,603). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “obliterate” is #37,601. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around obliterate (IPA /əˈblɪtəɹeɪt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #37,601 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for obliterate, with forms such as "boliterate", "obbliterate", and "obilterate". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "obliterated", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 … The correct English form is obliterate, spelled O-B-L-I-T-E-R-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To destroy (someone or something) completely, leaving no trace; to annihilate, to wipe out.
  2. 2
    To hide (something) by covering it; to conceal, to obscure.
  3. 3
    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. 4
    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. 5
    To cancel (a postage stamp) with a postmark so it cannot be reused.
  6. 6
    To be destroyed completely, leaving no trace.
  7. 7
    Of a body cavity, vessel, etc.: to close up or fill with tissue; of perfusion or a pulse: to cease owing to obstruction.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how obliterate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. [H]e [Pope Gregory I] deſigned to obliterate and extinguiſh the memorie of Heathen antiquitie and Authors.
  2. This opinion ſeemeth to me, to leave very little or no place for the Chriſtian Religion. For […] It obliterateth the notion of Gods Holineſs, vvhich to be no Holineſs, but a common or indifferent thing.

Etymology

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”)

This word in other languages

aniquilar(Español)annihiler(Français)auslöschen(Deutsch)aniquilar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • boliterate
  • obbliterate
  • obilterate
  • oblietrate
  • oblitearte
  • obliteraet
  • obliteratte
  • obliterrate
  • oblitertae
  • oblitreate
  • oblitterate
  • oblliterate
  • obltierate
  • olbiterate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of obliterate - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

boliterate2obbliterate1obilterate2oblietrate2oblitearte2obliteraet2obliteratte1obliterrate1
Edit distance from "obliterate"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "obliterate"?
"obliterate" is spelled O-B-L-I-T-E-R-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈblɪtəɹeɪt/.
What does "obliterate" mean?
As a verb, "obliterate" means: To destroy (someone or something) completely, leaving no trace; to annihilate, to wipe out.
What words are commonly confused with "obliterate"?
"obliterate" is commonly confused with "obliterated". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "obliterate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "obliterate" is /əˈblɪtəɹeɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "obliterate"?
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)). Ob... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "obliterate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

newsworthy#37,595naturalism#37,588permafrost#37,623preeminent#37,633

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

neverland14 variantspropelling14 variantspropriety14 variantsresection14 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list