Annihilated

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Totally destroyed or reduced to nothing through force or action
2. Utterly defeated or wiped out so that nothing remains or survives
3. Destroyed to an extreme degree or overwhelmed completely in a conflict or competition

Etymology: The past form "annihilated" is the past tense and participle of "annihilate," which comes from Latin "annihilare," meaning "to reduce to nothing." The Latin verb is built from "ad" ("to"), "nihil" ("nothing"), and a verb-forming ending, so the core idea is literally "to bring to nothing." The Latin root "nihil" is the same source behind words like "nihilism," which shows the word's deep link to the concept of nothingness. Its meaning has shifted from total erasure toward hyperbole. Where the original sense meant reducing something to literal nonexistence, the modern usage most often describes a crushing defeat in sport or argument, where a side is thrashed so completely that it seems to have vanished. The gap between the literal sense and the everyday one is a good illustration of how strong words get weakened by exaggeration.

Synonyms: destroyed, obliterated, eradicated, exterminated, wiped out

Antonyms: created, established, built, formed