I. -lə̇t, -ˌlāt adjective
Etymology: Middle English adnichilat, from Late Latin annihilatus
archaic : annihilated
II. -ˌlāt, usu -ād.+V transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Late Latin annihilatus, past participle of annihilare, from Latin ad- + nihil nothing — more at nil
1.
a. : to cause to be of no effect : nullify , abrogate
a right to freedom that cannot be annihilated
b. : to destroy the substance or force of : totally weaken
fear annihilates wit — Harvey Breit
2. : to look upon as nothing : regard as of no consequence : make light of
laughing at the past and annihilating its endeavors
3.
a. : to do away with entirely so that nothing remains : reduce to nothing : cause to cease to exist : destroy totally : blot out entirely
matter cannot be annihilated
are we to suppose that I can annihilate so substantial an object simply by shutting my eyes — C.H.Whitely
b. : to strip of power and influence : check the activity of : neutralize the operations of
annihilating the government's functions
c. : to destroy the interest and relevance of
towering scenic backgrounds that annihilated the tiny figure on the stage
a low building rightly placed will pull together surrounding high buildings instead of being annihilated by them — John Dewey
4.
a. : to destroy a considerable part of : decimate
the army was annihilated
little remained of the annihilated city
b. : to vanquish completely : crush , rout
the visiting football team was annihilated
Synonyms: see abolish
III. verb
transitive verb
: to cause (as a particle and its antiparticle) to vanish or cease to exist by coming together and changing into other forms of energy (as photons)
matter and antimatter annihilate each other
intransitive verb
: to undergo annihilation
an elementary particle and its antiparticle annihilate when they meet