An*ni"hi*late (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Annihilated; p. pr. & vb. n.
Annihilating.] [L. annihilare; ad + nihilum,
nihil, nothing, ne hilum (filum) not a thread, nothing
at all. Cf. File, a row.] 1. To reduce to
nothing or nonexistence; to destroy the existence of; to cause to cease to
be.
It impossible for any body to be utterly
annihilated.
Bacon.
2. To destroy the form or peculiar distinctive
properties of, so that the specific thing no longer exists; as, to
annihilate a forest by cutting down the trees. "To
annihilate the army." Macaulay.
3. To destroy or eradicate, as a property or
attribute of a thing; to make of no effect; to destroy the force, etc., of;
as, to annihilate an argument, law, rights, goodness.
An*ni"hi*late (an*nī"h&ibreve;*l&asl;t),
a. Annihilated. [Archaic] Swift.
