e ‧ rad ‧ i ‧ cate /ɪˈrædəkeɪt, ɪˈrædɪkeɪt/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: past participle of eradicare 'to pull out by the root' , from radix 'root' ]
to completely get rid of something such as a disease or a social problem
eradicate something from something
We can eradicate this disease from the world.
an attempt to eradicate inflation
This problem has now been completely eradicated.
—eradication /ɪˌrædəˈkeɪʃ ə n, ɪˌrædɪˈkeɪʃ ə n/ noun [uncountable]
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THESAURUS
▪ remove to make something no longer exist, especially something that was causing problems:
Some stains are difficult to remove with ordinary washing powder.
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All the obstacles to an agreement have now been removed.
▪ get rid of somebody/something to remove someone or something that you do not want. Get rid of is much more common than remove in everyday English, but is usually only used in active sentences:
They managed to get rid of all the weeds.
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It was almost impossible to get rid of him.
▪ eliminate to completely get rid of something that you do not want, especially because it is unnecessary or causing problems:
If you book online, this eliminates the need for a ticket.
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The new system will help to eliminate costly delays.
▪ eradicate to completely get rid of a disease or a problem:
The disease has been eradicated from most of Europe.
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Street crime has almost been eradicated.
▪ delete to remove something that has been written on a computer, or stored in a computer:
Do you want to delete this file?
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Press 3 to delete the messages on your answerphone.
▪ erase to remove recorded sounds or pictures from a tape, or writing from paper:
Shall I erase this video?
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It’s better to cross out a mistake than to try to erase it.
▪ cut to remove a part from a film, book, speech etc:
The most violent scenes were cut.
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Parts of his original speech were cut.