Delete and Erase

Delete

Delete verb - To show (something written) to be no longer valid by drawing a cross over or a line through it.
Usage example: the teacher deleted the last line of the student's essay, wisely sensing that it lessened the impact

Erase is a synonym for delete in action topic. In some cases you can use "Erase" instead a verb "Delete", when it comes to topics like continue, cancel, remove, rub out. popular alternative

Nearby Words: deletion, deleted, deleting, deleter

Erase

Erase verb - Remove by or as if by rubbing or erasing.
Usage example: Please erase the formula on the blackboard--it is wrong!

Delete is a synonym for erase in action topic. You can use "Delete" instead a verb "Erase", if it concerns topics such as continue, cancel, remove, rub out. popular alternative

Nearby Words: erasure, erasing, erasable, eraser

Common collocations

character delete character erase character
people delete people erase people
file delete file erase file
knowledge delete knowledge erase knowledge
Other words: data, universe, world, game, evidence, history, memory, records, existence, video, memories.

Both words in one sentence

  • Un-Person Subverted though in that between backups and the highly interconnected nature of the web, while you may personally delete and erase a specific instance of something, it's more than likely that a copy exists somewhere for some reason.
    Source: Un-Person
  • Video Game / Banjo-Kazooie She doesn't actually delete the whole pak, but the file you've been playing when putting the cheat will be gone.Grunty: Stop this cheating, Grunty says, or your Game Pak I'll erase!
  • Western Animation / ReBoot If this wasn't obvious enough, minions still loyal to him after his defeat are called "neo-virals." Never Say "Die": Played straight for the first two seasons and change; "delete" and "erase" were used instead, in line with Unusual Euphemism and Getting Crap Past the Radar.
Cite this Source
Erase and Delete. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/delete/erase
Delete & Erase. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/delete/erase>.
Erase or Delete. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/delete/erase.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "delete" and "erase" have occurred on timeline