annihilate

Definitions

an- (a form of ad-, here just intensifying) + nihil (nothing) + -ate (to make) = 'to make into nothing.' Not to harm or defeat, but to reduce all the way to zero — total erasure. The intensifying prefix pushes the destruction to its absolute limit.

Why It Means This

The force of annihilate comes from the -nihil- core: it doesn't just mean 'destroy,' it means 'reduce to nothing.' That's why it sounds stronger than 'damage' or 'beat' — there should be nothing left.

Common Collocations

• 1.annihilate the enemy消灭敌人
• 2.completely annihilate彻底消灭
• 3.annihilate the opposition完胜对手

Example Sentences

• 1.

  A single nuclear strike could annihilate the entire city.

• 2.

  The disease nearly annihilated the local bee population.

• 3.

  Our team was annihilated five-nil in the final.

Easily Confused

annihilate vs destroy: destroy means to ruin or break beyond repair; annihilate is stronger, implying nothing is left at all. You can destroy a document (one copy); you annihilate a species (all of it, gone).

Synonym Comparison