Exterminate Definition

ĭk-stûrmə-nāt
exterminated, exterminates, exterminating
verb
exterminated, exterminates, exterminating
To destroy or get rid of entirely, as by killing; wipe out; annihilate.
Webster's New World

To kill all of a population, usually deliberate and especially applied to pests.

We'll use poison to exterminate the rats.
Wiktionary

(figuratively) To bring a definite end to, finish completely. A rather strong word that implies that what has been ended won't resurface.

Even a mass birching at the public school failed to exterminate truancy.
Wiktionary
Antonyms:

Origin of Exterminate

  • From Latin exterminātus, perfect passive participle of exterminō, itself from ex- + terminō (“I finish, close, end”) (from terminus (“limit, end”)).

    From Wiktionary

  • Latin extermināre extermināt- to drive out ex- ex- termināre to mark boundaries (from terminus boundary marker)

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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