debellatio means debellation, the annihilation of a sovereign state through complete destruction in a war. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “debellatio” is a great word
DEBELLATIO — [Noun] The complete subjugation and annihilation of a belligerent state in war, resulting in the loss of its sovereignty. Unadapted borrowing from Latin dēbellātiō, from dēbellāre ("to subdue completely in war"), from dē- ("completely") + bellāre ("to wage war"). Unlike "capitulation" (which implies a formal surrender preserving a state's legal shell) or "occupation" (which suggests temporary control over a persisting sovereign), debellatio is the absolute and permanent extinction of a political entity. It is the archive burned to ash, the imperial decree dissolving the very name of a conquered kingdom, and the maps in the victor's chancellery being redrawn with a single, unchallenged color—the moment a people ceases to be a subject of history and becomes merely its object.
noun
- Debellation, the annihilation of a sovereign state through complete destruction in a war.“According to the International Law doctrine of debellatio (KO’d by war), under which we profess to operate, it is the coalition, through Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III and his administration, that makes the important political and economic decisions for the Iraqis.”