from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Obliterate \Ob*lit"er*ate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Obliterated};
p. pr. & vb. n. {Obliterating}.] [L. obliteratus, p. p. of
obliterare to obliterate; ob (see {Ob-}) + litera, littera,
letter. See {Letter}.]
1. To erase or blot out; to efface; to render undecipherable,
as a writing.
[1913 Webster]
2. To wear out; to remove or destroy utterly by any means; to
render imperceptible; as, to obliterate ideas; to
obliterate the monuments of antiquity.
[1913 Webster]
The harsh and bitter feelings of this or that
experience are slowly obliterated. --W. Black.
[1913 Webster]