as in self-immolation
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Recent Examples of self-annihilation
The will toward self-annihilation is a familiar human characteristic.
—
Henry Freedland, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Her self-annihilation is grisly and impossible to misinterpret as a final repudiation of her role in the HMS Courageous bombing and, until Grace announces she’d like Hal to be her vice-president, is the most intense and far-reaching twist of the episode.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
And he is compelled by a righteous fury to warn others of his son’s dark path to self-annihilation.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 22 June 2025
The broken family exults in its own debasement just like the protesters and activist judges who pursue self-annihilation as liberation.
—Armond White, National Review, 19 Mar. 2025
The clock, which is updated by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, is meant to be a metaphor for how close humanity is to self-annihilation.
—Rebecca Morin, USA TODAY, 29 Jan. 2025
The image becomes metabolized by the fungus in a process of self-annihilation and, like the memory itself, given a new kind of presence through its decay.
—Mariana Fernández, ARTnews.com, 18 Dec. 2024
The Doomsday Clock is a metaphor for how close humanity is to self-annihilation, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which has maintained the clock since 1947.
—Doyle Rice, The Courier-Journal, 23 Jan. 2024
These stellar objects, called dark stars, might have been fueled not by nuclear fusion but by the self-annihilation of dark matter—the invisible stuff that is thought to make up about 85 percent of the matter in the universe.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 20 July 2023
Henry Freedland, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Her self-annihilation is grisly and impossible to misinterpret as a final repudiation of her role in the HMS Courageous bombing and, until Grace announces she’d like Hal to be her vice-president, is the most intense and far-reaching twist of the episode.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
And he is compelled by a righteous fury to warn others of his son’s dark path to self-annihilation.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 22 June 2025
The broken family exults in its own debasement just like the protesters and activist judges who pursue self-annihilation as liberation.
—Armond White, National Review, 19 Mar. 2025
The clock, which is updated by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, is meant to be a metaphor for how close humanity is to self-annihilation.
—Rebecca Morin, USA TODAY, 29 Jan. 2025
The image becomes metabolized by the fungus in a process of self-annihilation and, like the memory itself, given a new kind of presence through its decay.
—Mariana Fernández, ARTnews.com, 18 Dec. 2024
The Doomsday Clock is a metaphor for how close humanity is to self-annihilation, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which has maintained the clock since 1947.
—Doyle Rice, The Courier-Journal, 23 Jan. 2024
These stellar objects, called dark stars, might have been fueled not by nuclear fusion but by the self-annihilation of dark matter—the invisible stuff that is thought to make up about 85 percent of the matter in the universe.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 20 July 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-annihilation
Noun
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Texas Democrats got to enjoy the glow of a surprise victory in Tarrant County for just about a day before the party reverted to its uncommon capacity for self-immolation.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Feb. 2026
-
If Trump were to persist, Denmark could trigger NATO’s Article 5 mutual-defense pact, and then the unthinkable could occur: American soldiers firing on Europeans while Russian President Vladimir Putin’s dream of NATO’s self-immolation is thoroughly realized.—
Jonathan Lemire,
The Atlantic,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The neutrality of the white cube gives way to an immersive installation dominated by shades of red—threads suspended from the ceiling, woven into sculptural forms, draped across surfaces and layered into dense, tactile compositions.—
Olga Garcia-Mayoral,
Miami Herald,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Let every new person, every new opportunity be greeted with neutrality, then observation, then placement.—
Magi Helena,
Dallas Morning News,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Luminate has a series of extensive checks and balances in place to detect any fraudulent data from providers to ensure the objectivity of the chart.—
Kyle Eustice,
VIBE.com,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Having cast doubt on Beatty’s objectivity, Hilborn then made the case that Wilkens’ fear may have stemmed from something other than abuse.—
Pamela Colloff,
ProPublica,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Both the criticism and self-flagellation imply that the act of claiming another person’s words can render these words deceitful, even if the words have been paid for and the content is true.—
Emily Hodgson Anderson,
The Conversation,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Huerta shouldn’t have to engage in this rite of self-flagellation, of course, but she and Chavez are linked by their legacies as two of the greatest civil rights fighters in our history.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Biblical scholar Bart Ehrman contends that our modern sense of altruism can be traced back to the radical shift in ethical thinking sparked by Jesus' teachings.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Trefethen led a similar portfolio at the philanthropic organization, Coefficient Giving, which is a major funder of the effective altruism community that has sometimes clashed with OpenAI’s vision for artificial intelligence.—
Thalia Beaty,
Fortune,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
This was huge win for the plaintiffs considering the court previously attempted to shift the case to the league’s internal arbitration process, a move that attorneys argued would eliminate all impartiality.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
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To suddenly claim impartiality when an athlete is killed shows a lack of backbone and a failure to stand up for the very people who make the Olympic movement possible.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-annihilation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-annihilation. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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