annihilative

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /əˈnaɪəˌleɪtɪv/ UK /əˈnaɪɪlətɪv/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
tending to destroy utterly; capable of total destruction

They feared the annihilative power of the new weapons.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · tending to destroy utterly;... destructiveobliteratingdevastating ruinousexterminating

Opposites

creative constructive restorativeregenerative

Word family

Related forms annihilate annihilationannihilator

Etymology

From annihilate + -ive, from Late Latin annihilare ('to reduce to nothing'), from Latin ad- ('to') + nihil ('nothing').

annihilare Latin nihil Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# annihilative

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /əˈnaɪəˌleɪtɪv/
**IPA (UK):** /əˈnaɪɪlətɪv/

## Meanings
1. tending to destroy utterly; capable of total destruction

## Examples
- They feared the annihilative power of the new weapons.

## Synonyms
- destructive
- obliterating
- devastating
- ruinous
- exterminating

## Antonyms
- creative
- constructive
- restorative
- regenerative

## Related Forms
- annihilate
- annihilation
- annihilator

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: annihilare
- Root: nihil

## Etymology
From annihilate + -ive, from Late Latin annihilare ('to reduce to nothing'), from Latin ad- ('to') + nihil ('nothing').

## AI Etymology
annihilative comes from annihilate + -ive, from Late Latin annihilare ('to reduce to nothing'), from Latin ad- ('to') + nihil ('nothing'). Morphologically, the word is transparent: -ive is attached to the older base named in the history, so the modern form packages an inherited or borrowed stem inside a later English derivative. In modern use, the adjective sense is "tending to destroy utterly; capable of total destruction", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes related English forms such as annihilate, annihilation, annihilator, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary. The principal historical forms in the chain include Latin annihilare, Latin nihil, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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