obliterate

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The Word of the Day for January 30 is:

obliterate   \uh-BLIT-uh-rayt\   verb
     1 a : to remove utterly from recognition or memory  *b : to remove from 
existence : destroy utterly all trace, indication, or significance of  c : to 
cause to disappear (as a bodily part or a scar) or collapse (as a duct 
conveying body fluid) 
     2 : to make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or wearing away
     3 : to deface (a postage or revenue stamp) especially with a set of ink 
lines so as to invalidate for reuse : cancel
        
Example sentence:
     To obliterate all thoughts of the blizzard outside, Terry lit a scented 
candle, put on some Vivaldi, and sat in front of the fire with her spring 
catalogs.

Did you know?
     Far from being removed from existence, "obliterate" is thriving in our 
language today with various senses that it has acquired over the years. True to 
its Latin source, "oblitteratus," it began in the mid-16th century as a word 
for removing something from memory. Soon after, English speakers began to use 
it for the specific act of blotting out or obscuring anything written. 
Eventually (by the late 18th century), its meaning was generalized to removing 
anything from existence. In the meantime, another sense had developed. In the 
late 17th century, physicians began using "obliterate" for the surgical act of 
filling or closing up a vessel, cavity, or passage with tissue. Its final stamp 
on the English lexicon was delivered in the mid-19th century: "to cancel a 
postage or revenue stamp." 

* Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.