obliteration
/əblˌɪtɚˈeɪʃən/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.37 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
5
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The cancellation of the function, structure, or both of a vessel or organ; for example, the occlusion of the lumen of a duct, blood vessel, or lymphatic vessel, be it solely functional (as when squeezed by nearby mass effect or inflammation) or both structural and functional (as when clogged with thrombus, embolus, or fibrosis).
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "This illustration depicts exoplanet Kepler-1658b (left), doomed to eventual obliteration by its aging host star."
- "Stark before-and-after images reveal the obliteration of Bakhmut [title]"
- "“Everyone knows what happens when you drop 14 30,000-pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.”"
- "Winter, in coming to the country hereabout, advanced in well-marked stages, wherein might have been successively observed the retreat of the snakes, the transformation of the ferns, the filling of the pools, a rising of fogs, the embrowning by frost, the collapse of the fungi, and an obliteration by snow."
- "Whitman did censor himself often enough, changing pronouns in some passages, excising others, learning, in short, the "strategies of concealment" forced on him by the nineteenth century. None of these obliterations, however, can excuse the endeavors of literary critics, who have tried to deny the importance of "sexuality" in the poetry by focusing on its "mystical" or its "universal" aspects."
- "Because he refused to protect his brother's name from obliteration, he acquires a derogatory nickname."
Etymology
Etymology tree English obliterate Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin -ātiōlbor. Old French -ationbor. Middle English -acioun English -ation English -ion English obliteration From obliterate + -ion.