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exterminate Definition

ex·ter·mi·nate (ek stʉr′mə nāt′, ik-)

transitive verb exterminated -·nat′ed, exterminating -·nat′·ing

to destroy or get rid of entirely, as by killing; wipe out; annihilate

Etymology: < L exterminatus, pp. of exterminare, lit., to drive beyond the boundaries, hence drive out, destroy < ex-, out + terminus, boundary: see term

Related Forms:

exterminate Synonyms

exterminate

v.

annihilate, eradicate, abolish, extirpate, destroy, wipe out, slaughter, kill off; see also destroy 1, kill 1.

exterminate implies the complete, wholesale destruction of things or living beings whose existence is considered undesirable; extirpate and eradicate both suggest the extinction or abolition of something, extirpate implying destruction at the very source, often through the loss or removal of conditions necessary for survival, and eradicate connoting less violence and, often, the working of natural processes or a methodical plan

exterminate Usage Examples

Object

  • population: Introduced American mink threaten to exterminate the last few remaining populations of our native water vole " ratty " .
  • race: To exterminate the human race they devised the ultimate plan, they would reshape the Future by changing the Past.

Used with why or when

    Modifying Another Word

    • not: HUNTING COMPARED TO OTHER FORMS OF CONTROL The purpose of hunting is to control not exterminate a species.
    • physically: Ideas cannot be destroyed purely with violence unless you physically exterminate every single believer.
exterminate Quotes

To win inVietnam, we will have to exterminate a nation.

—Spock, Dr Benjamin McLane