obliterate
ob·lit·er·ate/əˈblɪtəˌɹeɪt/verb
obliterate is spelled O-B-L-I-T-E-R-A-T-E: 10 letters and 4 syllables (ob·lit·er·ate). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, obliterate means “To destroy (someone or something) completely, leaving no trace; to annihilate, to wipe out” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in obliterate?
| Letters | 10: O-B-L-I-T-E-R-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: ob·lit·er·ate |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 37,459th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is obliterate?
Obliterate appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce obliterate?
- UK /əˈblɪtəɹeɪt/
- US /əˈblɪtəˌɹeɪt/
- US /oʊ-/
As an adjective (“Completely destroyed or erased; effaced, obliterated”): /əˈblɪtəɹət/, /əˈblɪtəɹət/, /oʊ-/.
Obliterate has 4 syllables, split ob·lit·er·ate in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-obliterate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with obliterate?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as obliterate from its last stressed vowel (/ɪtəɹeɪt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of obliterate
- obliterates present, singular, he/she/it
- obliterating participle, present
- obliterated participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
- more obliterate comparative
- most obliterate superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does obliterate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To destroy (someone or something) completely, leaving no trace; to annihilate, to wipe out.
- 2
To hide (something) by covering it; to conceal, to obscure.
The rainclouds obliterated the sun as they swept across the sky.
- 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
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
To cancel (a postage stamp) with a postmark so it cannot be reused.
- 6
To be destroyed completely, leaving no trace.
- 7
Of a body cavity, vessel, etc.: to close up or fill with tissue; of perfusion or a pulse: to cease owing to obstruction.
distal pulses obliterate until perfusion is restored
adjective
- 1
obsoleteCompletely destroyed or erased; effaced, obliterated.
- 2
obsoleterareOf markings on an insect: difficult to distinguish from the background; faint, indistinct.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Obliterate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to destroy (someone or something) completely, leaving no trace:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | annihiler, effacer, écraser, volatiliser, anéantir, pulvériser |
| German | auslöschen, verwischen |
| Portuguese | obliterar, aniquilar |
| Spanish | obliterar, aniquilar, arrasar, borrar, destruir, remover |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does obliterate come from?
(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)).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).