obliteration

noun

"obliteration" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“obliteration” is an uncommon English word, ranked #61,674 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#61,674
frequency rank, English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The total destruction of something.

Key facts for obliteration
PropertyValue
Headwordobliteration
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters12
Frequency rank#61,674
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “obliteration” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). obliteration lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for obliteration is 12 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #61,674 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No misspelling variants are generated for obliteration in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From obliterate + -ion. The correct English form is obliteration, spelled O-B-L-I-T-E-R-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The total destruction of something.
  2. 2
    The concealing or covering of something.
  3. 3
    The cancellation, erasure or deletion of something.
  4. 4
    The cancellation of the function, structure, or both of a vessel or organ; for example, the occlusion of the lumen of a duct, blood vessel, or lymphatic vessel, be it solely functional (as when squeezed by nearby mass effect or inflammation) or both structural and functional (as when clogged with thrombus, embolus, or fibrosis).

Etymology

From obliterate + -ion.

This word in other languages

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 "obliteration"?
"obliteration" is spelled O-B-L-I-T-E-R-A-T-I-O-N.
What does "obliteration" mean?
As a noun, "obliteration" means: The total destruction of something.
What is the origin of the word "obliteration"?
From obliterate + -ion. 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.

Using “obliteration”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is O-B-L-I-T-E-R-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list