Ob-lĭt'er-āte, v. t.

verbtransitive

[imp. & p. p. OBLITERATED; p. pr. & vb. n. OBLITERATING.] [Lat. obliterare, obliteratum, from prefix ob and litera, letter; It. obliterare, Sp. obliterar, Fr. oblitérer.]

Sense 1. To erase or blot out; to efface; as, a writing may be obliterated by erasure, by blotting, or by the slow operation of time or natural causes.

Sense 2. To wear out; to destroy by time or other means; as, to obliterate ideas or impressions; to obliterate the monuments of antiquity; to obliterate reproach.

Sense 3. To reduce to a very low or imperceptible state.

The torpor of the vascular system and obliterated pulse. Med. Repository.