Main Entry: oblit·er·ate

Pronunciation:  \ə-ˈbli-tə-ˌrāt, ō-\

Function: transitive verb

1 a : to remove utterly from recognition or memory b : to remove from existence, or destroy utterly all trace, indication, or significance of c : to cause to disappear (as a bodily part or a scar) or collapse (as a duct conveying body fluid) , or remove

2 : to make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or wearing away

3 : cancel

Main Entry: oblit·er·ate

Pronunciation:  \ə-ˈbli-tə-ˌrāt, ō-\

Function: transitive verb

Etymology: (ca. 1600) From the Latin oblitteratus ("to cause to disappear, efface"), which is the past participle of oblitterare, from ob- ("against") + littera ("letter, script"); abstracted from the phrase literas scribere, or "write across letters, strike out letters"

1 a : to remove utterly from recognition or memory b : to remove from existence, or destroy utterly all trace, indication, or significance of c : to cause to disappear (as a bodily part or a scar) or collapse (as a duct conveying body fluid) , or remove

2 : to make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or wearing away

3 : cancel

Synonyms: decimate, efface, extirpate, eliminate, obscure

Usage: Considering the Jews as the enemies of the master race (i.e., the Aryan race), Adolf Hitler and his Nazi cronies attempted to obliterate the entire Jewish population as a means to ethnic cleansing.
Quotable quote: Don’t let one cloud obliterate the whole sky.
 (Anaïs Nin)