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Synonyms

blot out

Idioms  

  1. Obliterate, wipe out of existence or memory, as in At least one Indian nation was blotted out as the pioneers moved west, or The trauma of the accident blotted out all her memory of recent events. This idiom, first recorded in 1516, uses the verb to blot in the sense of making something illegible by spotting or staining it with ink. The New Testament has it (Acts 3:19): “Repent ye ... that your sins may be blotted out.”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I tried covering my face with a pillow but that didn’t blot out a thing.

From Literature

Until last Sunday, when black towers of smoke blotted out the sun.

From Barron's

Many of the towering sycamore trees and elder oaks — probably far older than even the adult Scout leaders — still blot out the midday sun with new, green leaves sprouting from their charred trunks.

From Los Angeles Times

That did not blot out the fear in many fields that raids could happen at any moment.

From Los Angeles Times

A secret sister, whose name and existence had been blotted out.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.