| Annihilate | v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Annihilated; p. pr. & vb. n. Annihilating. ] [ L. annihilare; ad + nihilum, nihil, nothing, ne hilum (filum) not a thread, nothing at all. Cf. File, a row. ] 1. To reduce to nothing or nonexistence; to destroy the existence of; to cause to cease to be. [ 1913 Webster ] It impossible for any body to be utterly annihilated. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. To destroy the form or peculiar distinctive properties of, so that the specific thing no longer exists; as, to annihilate a forest by cutting down the trees. “To annihilate the army.” Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ] 3. To destroy or eradicate, as a property or attribute of a thing; to make of no effect; to destroy the force, etc., of; as, to annihilate an argument, law, rights, goodness. [ 1913 Webster ] |
