annihilatean‧ni‧hi‧late /əˈnaɪəleɪt/ verb [transitive] 
Word Origin Examples
Just one of these bombs could annihilate a city the size of New York.2to defeat someone easily and completely in a game or competition: Tyson annihilated his opponent in the first round.—annihilation /əˌnaɪəˈleɪʃən/ noun [uncountable]
Word OriginWORD ORIGINannihilate
Verb TableOrigin:
1500-1600 Late Latin past participle of annihilare ‘to reduce to nothing’, from Latin ad- ‘to’ + nihil ‘nothing’VERB TABLE
annihilate
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | annihilate |
| he, she, it | annihilates | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | annihilated |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have annihilated |
| he, she, it | has annihilated | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had annihilated |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will annihilate |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have annihilated |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am annihilating |
| he, she, it | is annihilating | |
| you, we, they | are annihilating | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was annihilating |
| you, we, they | were annihilating | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been annihilating |
| he, she, it | has been annihilating | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been annihilating |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be annihilating |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been annihilating |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- After a long and bloody battle the army succeeded in annihilating Seged's forces.
- In 1945 Japan was helpless, with its military power annihilated.
- Besides annihilating about 40,000 homes, the worst natural disaster in memory destroyed countless businesses and jobs.
- The nations were to be annihilated.
- The virus had annihilated all those who knew of Rassilon's great mistake.
- Will we use our technological brilliance to annihilate genetic diseases before they strike?
Longman Language Activatorto defeat an enemy in war► defeat
1to destroy something or someone completely: to completely defeat an enemy's army because your armed forces are much larger, have better equipment etc: · The army was well-trained and well-armed, and had little difficulty defeating the rebels.heavily defeat: · The Republicans were heavily defeated in the Spanish Civil War.
► overwhelm to completely defeat an enemy's army because your armed forces are much larger, have better equipment etc: · Napoleon's army was strong enough to overwhelm nearly any potential enemy.· With its greatly superior technology, the government forces completely overwhelmed the rebels.
► annihilate to completely defeat an enemy's army in a war and to destroy all their armed forces: · After a long and bloody battle the army succeeded in annihilating Seged's forces.· In 1945 Japan was helpless, with its military power annihilated.
► rout to completely defeat an enemy's army in battle: · The general was killed and his armies were routed in a magnificent cavalry charge.
► bring somebody to their knees to cause the final defeat of an enemy, especially after a long war, so that they are too weak to fight back: · The disastrous Battle of the Boyne finally brought the Catholics to their knees.· After years of trench warfare, the Kaiser's army had finally been brought to its knees.
► conquer to completely defeat the armed forces of an enemy country, with the result that you have complete control over it: · Sailors travelled to the New World with the urge to conquer and explore.· Julius Caesar conquered Gaul, which we know today as France.
to beat someone very easily in a game, competition, election etc► crush/slaughter/massacre/annihilate informal to completely beat someone in a game, competition, election etc: · Wow, the Raiders just slaughtered the Seahawks again.· The party strategy was to form an alliance to crush the communists.
► clobber/hammer informal also cream American spoken to beat someone very easily in a game, competition, election etc: · We've been clobbered twice now by Central High's basketball team.· Chicago hammered Boston in an away game on Saturday.· "How'd the game go?" "We creamed 'em!"
► rout especially British to beat an opposing team or political party easily and completely: · The Australians have once again routed the English cricket team.
► wipe the floor with somebody informal to defeat someone completely in an argument or competition: · I'd think twice before I started a fight with him - he'd wipe the floor with me!
► outplay to play much better than an opponent or team in a game and beat them easily: · Ohio outplayed Michigan, especially in the fourth quarter, winning by 14 points.
Just one of these bombs could annihilate a city the size of New York.2to defeat someone easily and completely in a game or competition: Tyson annihilated his opponent in the first round.—annihilation /əˌnaɪəˈleɪʃən/ noun [uncountable]