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Definition of obliterate verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

obliterate

verb
 
/əˈblɪtəreɪt/
 
/əˈblɪtəreɪt/
[often passive]
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they obliterate
 
/əˈblɪtəreɪt/
 
/əˈblɪtəreɪt/
he / she / it obliterates
 
/əˈblɪtəreɪts/
 
/əˈblɪtəreɪts/
past simple obliterated
 
/əˈblɪtəreɪtɪd/
 
/əˈblɪtəreɪtɪd/
past participle obliterated
 
/əˈblɪtəreɪtɪd/
 
/əˈblɪtəreɪtɪd/
-ing form obliterating
 
/əˈblɪtəreɪtɪŋ/
 
/əˈblɪtəreɪtɪŋ/
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  1. obliterate something to remove all signs of something, either by destroying or covering it completely
    • The building was completely obliterated by the bomb.
    • The snow had obliterated their footprints.
    • Everything that happened that night was obliterated from his memory.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • completely
    • entirely
    • totally
    See full entry
    Word Originmid 16th cent.: from Latin obliterat- ‘struck out, erased’, from the verb obliterare, based on littera ‘letter, something written’.
See obliterate in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
trait
noun
 
 
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