obliterate
To destroy something completely so nothing is left.
obliterate in a sentence
- One giant wave was enough to obliterate the sandcastle, leaving no trace of its towers.
- Heavy rain fell overnight and managed to obliterate every chalk drawing on the playground.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to obliterate?
- Adestroy
- Bmake
- Cbuild
- Dcreate
Show the answer
A: destroy. The other three mean the opposite of obliterate.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to obliterate?
- Aerase
- Bwreck
- Cbuild
- Ddestroy
Show the answer
C: build. The other three mean nearly the same as obliterate.
Words that mean something similar
destroy, wreck, erase
Words that mean the opposite
build, create, make
More words about movement & action
- obstacle: Something that gets in your way and stops you moving forward.
- obtain: To get something, often by working or asking for it.
- onslaught: A fierce attack or a great rush of something.
- peer: To look very closely and carefully at something that is hard to see.
- pelt: To throw things at someone again and again, or to rain very hard.
- plod: To walk slowly with heavy steps.
- plummet: To fall very fast and suddenly.
- plunge: To fall or dive suddenly downwards.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test