extirpate
verb
ex·tir·pate ˈek-stər-ˌpāt 
extirpated; extirpating
transitive verb
1
a
: to destroy completely : wipe out
b
: to pull up by the root
2
: to cut out by surgery
extirpation
ˌek-stər-ˈpā-shən
noun extirpator
ˈek-stər-ˌpā-tər
noun 
Did you know?
Dig Out the History of Extirpate
If we do a little digging, we discover that extirpate finds its roots in, well, roots (and stumps). Early English uses of the word in the 16th century carried the meaning of "to clear of stumps" or "to pull something up by the root." Extirpate grew out of a combination of the Latin prefix ex- and the Latin noun stirps, meaning "trunk" or "root." The word stirp itself remains rooted in our own language as a term meaning "a line descending from a common ancestor."
Synonyms
- abolish
- annihilate
- black out
- blot out
- cancel
- clean (up)
- efface
- eradicate
- erase
- expunge
- exterminate
- liquidate
- obliterate
- root (out)
- rub out
- snuff (out)
- stamp (out)
- sweep (away)
- wipe out
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
the triumph of modern medicine in extirpating certain diseases
Recent Examples on the Web Then, in the ISIS years, the US chose to ally with the Iraqi/Syrian Kurds to extirpate ISIS. 
Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 6 July 2022 Brave nonconformists across Cuban civil society, whom the regime is determined to extirpate, are merely collateral damage in a wider war against the values of the West. Mary Anastasia O’grady, WSJ, 12 June 2022 In Indonesia, the V.O.C. eventually followed up the massacre of a people with an effort to extirpate a botanical species. Olufemi O. Taiwo, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2021 The plain fact of the matter is that violent leftist revolutionaries of the kind that Salazar promised to extirpate in Portugal are nowhere to be seen on the American political landscape today. Cameron Hilditch, National Review, 12 Aug. 2021 Now, by moving against the commission, Mr. Biden looks to extirpate classical roots. James Panero, WSJ, 26 May 2021 The state has a liberal reputation today, but in the 19th century its white settlers attempted to extirpate almost any nonwhite population and create a Jim Crow system that lasted well into the 20th century. Brian Smale, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Apr. 2021 But habitat loss and unregulated hunting combined to extirpate the big animals by 1900. Tom Carpenter, Outdoor Life, 2 Mar. 2021 The Chinese Communists aren’t trying to extirpate every last trace of theism, thereby inviting the undivided opposition of religious believers and institutions (as the Soviets did with regard to John Paul II’s Vatican). Cameron Hilditch, National Review, 21 Feb. 2021 See More
Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 6 July 2022 Brave nonconformists across Cuban civil society, whom the regime is determined to extirpate, are merely collateral damage in a wider war against the values of the West. Mary Anastasia O’grady, WSJ, 12 June 2022 In Indonesia, the V.O.C. eventually followed up the massacre of a people with an effort to extirpate a botanical species. Olufemi O. Taiwo, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2021 The plain fact of the matter is that violent leftist revolutionaries of the kind that Salazar promised to extirpate in Portugal are nowhere to be seen on the American political landscape today. Cameron Hilditch, National Review, 12 Aug. 2021 Now, by moving against the commission, Mr. Biden looks to extirpate classical roots. James Panero, WSJ, 26 May 2021 The state has a liberal reputation today, but in the 19th century its white settlers attempted to extirpate almost any nonwhite population and create a Jim Crow system that lasted well into the 20th century. Brian Smale, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Apr. 2021 But habitat loss and unregulated hunting combined to extirpate the big animals by 1900. Tom Carpenter, Outdoor Life, 2 Mar. 2021 The Chinese Communists aren’t trying to extirpate every last trace of theism, thereby inviting the undivided opposition of religious believers and institutions (as the Soviets did with regard to John Paul II’s Vatican). Cameron Hilditch, National Review, 21 Feb. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Latin exstirpatus, past participle of exstirpare, from ex- + stirp-, stirps trunk, root
First Known Use
1535, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
extirpating
verb
as in eradicating
to destroy all traces of the triumph of modern medicine in extirpating certain diseases Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- eradicating
- erasing
- abolishing
- destroying
- exterminating
- annihilating
- obliterating
- expunging
- effacing
- liquidating
- demolishing
- wiping out
- canceling
- shattering
- killing
- dismantling
- blotting out
- ravaging
- cancelling
- decimating
- blacking out
- discarding
- ruining
- wrecking
- devastating
- consuming
- sweeping (away)
- rubbing out
- flattening
- razing
- stamping (out)
- dynamiting
- wasting
- cleaning (up)
- dissolving
- fragmenting
- excising
- snuffing (out)
- rooting (out)
- pulverizing
- expelling
- devouring
- atomizing
- ejecting
- smashing
- splintering
- tearing down
- jettisoning
- ousting
- finishing
- powdering
- dashing
- blasting
- zapping
- dooming
- terminating
- killing off
- ditching
- totaling
- mowing (down)
- blowing up
- cutting
- totalling
- throwing out
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- protecting
- preserving
- conserving
- saving
- creating
- constructing
- shaping
- forming
- making
- restoring
- building
- manufacturing
- repairing
- forging
- reconstructing
- rebuilding
- framing
- fixing
- fashioning
- renewing
- fabricating
- revamping
- renovating
- reconditioning
- mending
- patching
- rejiggered
- rejiggering
- rejiggers
- rejigging
- rejigs
- rejment
- rejoice
- rejoice (in)
- rejoice in
- rejoice in the name of
- rejoice in the name/title of
- rejoice in the title of
- rejoiced
- rejoiced (in)
- rejoiced in
- rejoiceful
- rejoicement
- rejoicer
- rejoicers
- rejoices
- rejoices (in)
- rejoices in
- rejoicing
- rejoicing (in)
- rejoicing in