obliterate

[uh-blit-uh-reyt] /əˈblɪt əˌreɪt/
verb (used with object), obliterated, obliterating.
1.
to remove or destroy all traces of; do away with; destroy completely.
2.
to blot out or render undecipherable (writing, marks, etc.); efface.
Origin
1590-1600; < Latin oblitterātus (past participle of oblitterāre, efface, cause to be forgotten), equivalent to ob- ob- + litter(a) letter + -ātus -ate1
Related forms
obliterable
[uh-blit-er-uh-buh l] /əˈblɪt ər ə bəl/ (Show IPA), adjective
obliterator, noun
half-obliterated, adjective
unobliterated, adjective
Synonyms
2. expunge. See cancel.
British Dictionary definitions for obliterate

obliterate

/əˈblɪtəˌreɪt/
verb
1.
(transitive) to destroy every trace of; wipe out completely
Derived Forms
obliteration, noun
obliterative, adjective
obliterator, noun
Word Origin
C16: from Latin oblitterāre to erase, from ob- out + littera letter
Word Origin and History for obliterate
v.

c.1600, from Latin obliteratus, past participle of obliterare "cause to disappear, blot out, erase, efface," figuratively "cause to be forgotten," from ob "against" (see ob-) + littera (also litera) "letter, script" (see letter (n.)); abstracted from phrase literas scribere "write across letters, strike out letters." Related: Obliterated; obliterating.

obliterate in Medicine

obliterate o·blit·er·ate (ə-blĭt'ə-rāt', ō-blĭt'-)
v. o·blit·er·at·ed, o·blit·er·at·ing, o·blit·er·ates

  1. To remove an organ or another body part completely, as by surgery, disease, or radiation.

  2. To blot out, especially through filling of a natural space by fibrosis or inflammation.

o·blit'er·a'tion n.
o·blit'er·a'tive (-ə-rā'tĭv, -ər-ə-tĭv) adj.