From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishannihilatean‧ni‧hi‧late /əˈnaɪəleɪt/ verb [transitive] 1 DESTROYto destroy something or someone completely Just one of these bombs could annihilate a city the size of New York.2 BEAT/DEFEATto defeat someone easily and completely in a game or competition Tyson annihilated his opponent in the first round. —annihilation /əˌnaɪəˈleɪʃən/ noun [uncountable]→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
annihilate• In 1945 Japan was helpless, with its military power annihilated.• The nations were to be annihilated.• Besides annihilating about 40,000 homes, the worst natural disaster in memory destroyed countless businesses and jobs.• 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?• After a long and bloody battle the army succeeded in annihilating Seged's forces.Origin annihilate (1500-1600) Late Latin past participle of annihilare “to reduce to nothing”, from Latin ad- “to” + nihil “nothing” 