Emily Dickinson Lexicon

AN-NI'HI-LATE, v.t. [L. ad and nihilum, a trifle.]

1. To reduce to nothing; to destroy the existence of; as, no human power can annihilate matter.
2. To destroy the form or peculiar distinctive properties, so that the specific thing no longer exists; as, to annihilate a forest by cutting and carrying away the trees, though the timber may still exist; to annihilate a house by demolishing the structure.