obliterate /əˈblɪtəɹeɪt/verb 7/əˈblɪtəɹət/ adjective 2forms 7 verb7 •To destroy (someone or something) completely, leaving no trace; to annihilate, to wipe out.[H]e [Pope Gregory I] designed to obliterate and extinguish the memorie of Heathen antiquitie and Authors. — 1605 •To be destroyed completely, leaving no trace. •To hide (something) by covering it; to conceal, to obscure.The rainclouds obliterated the sun as they swept across the sky. •To make (a drawing, text which is printed or written, etc.) indecipherable, either by erasing or obscuring it; to blot out, to efface, to delete.[A]s one foule blot or dash vvith a pen defaceth a vvhole vvriting, so one foule and enormous crime dasheth and obliterateth the fairest copy of a vertuous life. — 1636 •To cancel (a postage stamp) with a postmark so it cannot be reused. •To impair the function and/or structure of (a body cavity, vessel, etc.) by ablating or occluding it (in the latter case, chiefly by filling it with tissue).The pleural sac was obliterated by firm fibrous adhesions over the right upper lobe. — 1959 •Of a body cavity, vessel, etc.: to close up or fill with tissue; of perfusion or a pulse: to cease owing to obstruction.distal pulses obliterate until perfusion is restored obliterate /əˈblɪtəɹət/ adjective2 •(no longer used) Completely destroyed or erased; effaced, obliterated.It may maintain a bright conjecture, against a rusty Truth: a legible possession, against an obliterate Claime: […] — 1647 •(no longer used, rare) Of markings on an insect: difficult to distinguish from the background; faint, indistinct. formsobliterated · obliterating · obliterates · obliterateth · obliteratest · more obliterate · most obliterate
