blot out

Hide from view

To blot out is to obscure or cover completely, as ink blots out text beneath it.

The phrase extends to blocking light (clouds blotted out the sun) or erasing from memory or existence: She tried to blot out the painful years.

To blot something out is to make it as though it never was.

erase

expunge

Delete entirely, officially

effaceEliminate from view
removeTake something away
annihilateDestroy completely, leaving nothing

destroy · eradicate · eliminate · cancel · excise · redact

obscure

shroud

Burial cloth or covering

veilFabric that obscures
concealKeep from being seen
hideConceal or pelt

mask · cloud · dim · cover · screen · cloak · block · shade · shadow · darken

eclipse

occultation

Celestial body blocking another

totalityComplete aggregate amount
umbraComplete shadow region
penumbraRegion of partial illumination

corona · transit · shadow · darkness · solar · lunar · partial · annular · obscuration · blackout

forget

repress

Hold back forcibly

suppressForcibly put an end to
memoryMind's retention capacity
traumaLasting psychological wound

oblivion · denial · dissociation · amnesia · painful · banish · bury

Categories

deletionerase, erasure, strikethrough, x, remove
removalremove, elimination, erasing, erase, removing
block outcover, hide, mask, screen, shroud

Opposites

visibility/concealment

blot outreveal

Make something visible

expose · uncover · show · display · unveil

memory/awareness

blot outremember

Retain in mind

recall · bring to mind · relive · conjure up · commemorate

existence/preservation

blot outpreserve

Protect from loss

perpetuate · restore · establish · enshrine · maintain

Family

out, delete, blot, obliterate, blots, blotted, blotting

Familiarity: Top 100,000
Profile: Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated G