annihilating

present participle of annihilate
1
2
as in destroying
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of the tornado simply annihilated the family's home

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of annihilating Chess is about annihilating your opponent. Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 24 June 2026 However, this new research showed that these point sources, including pulsars, would be extremely faint, and that is good news for scientists who favor annihilating dark matter as the cause of these gamma rays. Robert Lea, Space.com, 21 June 2026 If Neptune did have an original set of moons that more closely resembled those of its planetary neighbors, the arrival of Triton — which is just smaller than our own moon — would have wreaked havoc, crashing into the other satellites and annihilating some of them. Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 20 May 2026 Now southern Republicans are annihilating Black political power. Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 19 May 2026 Instead, it is filled with a froth of virtual particles becoming real in pairs, waving to us, annihilating each other, and sinking back into the soup of virtual particles. Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 15 May 2026 One compelling hypothesis is that dark matter particles in the dense central halo are interacting with and annihilating one another, releasing energy as gamma rays. Paul M. Sutter, Scientific American, 6 May 2026 That means eliminating Iran's Navy, which is now absolutely destroyed, hurting their Air Force and their missile program at levels never seen before, and annihilating their defense industrial base. James Powel, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026 So, if the president succeeds in 'annihilating,' in his words, the Iranian navy, then long-term prospects of closure should decline, and that should increase the likelihood that ships will start sailing again. David McHugh, Arkansas Online, 3 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for annihilating
Verb
  • When William and his brother, Prince Harry, were young boys, the former Princess of Wales would regularly take them to homeless shelters, and eradicating homelessness has become a cornerstone of the future king’s royal work.
    Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 30 June 2026
  • The path through impostor syndrome is not about eradicating the doubt.
    Karyn Gallant, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Verb
  • Mexican fruit flies are one of the world’s most destructive pests when laying their eggs, destroying or damaging fruit such as apples, grapefruits, avocados, peaches and pears, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
    Kori McNair, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026
  • But Blue Origin suffered a major setback in May when one of its New Glenn rockets abruptly exploded on the launchpad, destroying vital infrastructure that will take months to rebuild.
    Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 30 June 2026
Verb
  • Forward-looking firms are overcoming this by deploying advanced technical strategies.
    Ali Hoss, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
  • Normal matter can’t be stuffed into a space tiny and dense enough without overcoming a huge outward pressure.
    Stephen DiKerby, The Conversation, 29 June 2026
Verb
  • The birthright citizenship ruling was a win for democracy — and a warning about erasing history, argues columnist Anita Chabria.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026
  • Love is the capacity to hold difference without fragmentation, to bring parts into relationship without erasing their uniqueness and to align intelligence with constructive becoming.
    Pravir Malik, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
Verb
  • Digital Realty already began demolishing the inside of the building, so Gray believed the agreement was set.
    Desiree Mathurin, Charlotte Observer, 27 June 2026
  • But everyday people expressed their political outrage time and again, throwing rocks at and demolishing the houses of government officials, torching the king’s ships and forts and, eventually, marching to battle.
    Robert Parkinson, The Conversation, 24 June 2026
Verb
  • No mother should endure the agony of cremation and/or burying their child.
    Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 1 July 2026
  • It’s been over three decades since Wood was convicted of murdering six young women and girls and burying their bodies near El Paso – crimes for which he was nicknamed the Desert Killer.
    Irenie Forshaw, TheWeek, 1 July 2026
Verb
  • Many of its candidates support entirely eliminating immigration enforcement, abolishing the police, sweeping wealth redistribution and expanding government ownership over significant sectors of the economy.
    Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 29 June 2026
  • But how does that -- how does abolishing prisons or having open borders fit into that?
    ABC News, ABC News, 28 June 2026
Verb
  • After all, plenty of cocktail enthusiasts already complain about mosquitoes ruining a summer evening.
    Emily Price, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
  • The company was saving a few bucks but ruining its product.
    Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 25 June 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Annihilating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/annihilating. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on annihilating

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster