Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense exterminates, present participle exterminating, past tense, past participle exterminated
verb
To exterminate a group of people or animals means to kill all of them.
A huge effort was made to exterminate the rats. [VERB noun]
They have a real fear that they'll be exterminated in the ongoing civil war. [VERB noun]
Man is exterminating too many species for zoos to be much help. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: destroy, kill, eliminate, abolish More Synonyms of exterminate
extermination (ɪkstɜːʳmɪneɪʃən)uncountable noun
...the extermination of hundreds of thousands of their countrymen. [+ of]
Synonyms: destruction, murder, massacre, slaughter More Synonyms of exterminate
exterminate in British English
(ɪkˈstɜːmɪˌneɪt) or extermine (ɪkˈstɜːmɪn)
verb
(transitive)
to destroy (living things, esp pests or vermin) completely; annihilate; eliminate
Derived forms
exterminable (exˈterminable)
adjective
extermination (exˌtermiˈnation)
noun
exterminative (exˈterminative) or exterminatory (exˈterminatory)
adjective
exterminator (exˈtermiˌnator)
noun
Word origin
C16: from Latin extermināre to drive away, from terminus boundary
exterminate in American English
(ɛkˈstɜrməˌneɪt; ɪkˈstɜrməˌneɪt)
verb transitiveWord forms: exˈtermiˌnated or exˈtermiˌnating
to destroy or get rid of entirely, as by killing; wipe out; annihilate
SYNONYMY NOTE: exterminate implies the complete, wholesale destruction of things or living beings whose existenceis considered undesirable; , extirpate, eradicate both suggest the extinction or abolition of something, , extirpate implying a deliberate and violent destruction at the very source so that the thingcannot be regenerated, and , eradicate connoting less violence and, often, the working of natural processes or a methodicalplan
Derived forms
extermination (exˌtermiˈnation)
noun
Word origin
< L exterminatus, pp. of exterminare, lit., to drive beyond the boundaries, hence drive out, destroy < ex-, out + terminus, boundary: see term1
Synonyms of 'exterminate'
destroy, kill, eliminate, abolish
More Synonyms of exterminate
In other languages
exterminate
British English: exterminate VERB
To exterminate a group of people or animals means to kill all of them.
A huge effort was made to exterminate the rats.
American English: exterminate
Brazilian Portuguese: exterminar
Chinese: 消灭
European Spanish: exterminar
French: exterminer
German: ausrotten
Italian: sterminare
Japanese: 絶滅させる
Korean: 근절하다
European Portuguese: exterminar
Latin American Spanish: exterminar
(verb)
Definition
to destroy a group or type of people, animals, or plants completely
A huge effort was made to exterminate the rats.
Synonyms
destroy
They could destroy the enemy in days rather than weeks.
kill
More than 200 people were killed in the disaster.
eliminate
The Act has not eliminated discrimination in employment.
abolish
They voted to abolish the death penalty.
eradicate
battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus
annihilate
The army was annihilated.
extirpate (archaic)
The Romans wished to extirpate Druidism in Britain.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of abolish
Definition
to do away with (laws, regulations, or customs)
They voted to abolish the death penalty.
Synonyms
do away with,
end,
destroy,
eliminate,
shed,
cancel,
axe (informal),
get rid of,
ditch (slang),
dissolve,
junk (informal),
suppress,
overturn,
throw out,
discard,
wipe out,
overthrow,
void,
terminate,
drop,
trash (slang),
repeal,
eradicate,
put an end to,
quash,
extinguish,
dispense with,
revoke,
stamp out,
obliterate,
subvert,
jettison,
repudiate,
annihilate,
rescind,
exterminate,
invalidate,
bring to an end,
annul,
nullify,
blot out,
expunge (formal),
abrogate (archaic),
vitiate (archaic),
extirpate (archaic),
kennet (Australian, slang),
jeff (Australian, slang)
in the sense of annihilate
Definition
to destroy (a place or a group of people) completely
The army was annihilated.
Synonyms
destroy,
abolish,
wipe out,
erase,
eradicate,
extinguish,
obliterate,
liquidate,
root out,
exterminate,
nullify,
extirpate (archaic),
wipe from the face of the earth,
kennet (Australian, slang),
jeff (Australian, slang)
in the sense of eliminate
Definition
to get rid of (something or someone unwanted, unnecessary, or not meeting the requirements needed)
The Act has not eliminated discrimination in employment.