ikˈstərməˌnāt, ek-, -stə̄m-, -stəim-, usu -ād.+V transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin exterminatus, past participle of exterminare, from ex- ex- (I) + terminus boundary, limit, end — more at term
1. obsolete : to drive out or away (as from the boundaries of a country) : banish , expel
2. : to get rid of (as by killing)
exterminating rats
: put an end to : root out : eradicate , extirpate
exterminating every error
: put out of existence : utterly destroy : annihilate
the cataclysm exterminated all life
Synonyms:
exterminate , extirpate , eradicate , uproot , deracinate , and wipe ( out ) can mean to bring about the destruction or abolition of something. exterminate implies utter extinction usually by killing off
using every feeble attempt at retaliation as an excuse to exterminate whole tribes — R.A.Billington
following the attempt of the people to exterminate feudalism — American Guide Series: New Jersey
extirpate usually applies to the extinction of a race, family, species, or growth, often by the destruction or removal of the means by which a thing is propagated
the gray wolf and the black bear have been extirpated — American Guide Series: Massachusetts
the trailing arbutus … has been almost extirpated — American Guide Series: Delaware
the ancient Athenians had been extirpated by repeated wars and massacres — Robert Graves
another set of measures are intended to get closer to the roots of the evil and to extirpate them — Frank Gorrell
eradicate implies the driving out or elimination of something that has taken root or has established itself
federal and municipal housing groups are cooperating to eradicate slums — American Guide Series: New York City
if you eradicate a fault, you leave room for a worse one to take root and flourish — L.P.Smith
uproot suggests a forcible removal as by tearing up by the roots, not often suggesting elimination
a tribe uprooted by war and famine and forced to settle in new territory
nor was it going to be easy to uproot deep-seated tendencies toward corruption — Collier's Year Book
deracinate implies an uprooting or, more commonly, a separation from a rootstock
he is not the deracinated and rootless author he has sometimes been thought to be — R.B.West
although the author is himself a Negro, his book is so deracinated, without any of the lively qualities of the imagination peculiar to his people — Commentary
wipe ( out ) is often interchangeable with exterminate but often applies to a canceling or obliteration as by payment or retaliation or by exhaustion of supplies
discover which species still survive and which have been wiped out — Manchester Guardian Weekly
a nerve gas that could wipe out the populations of enemy cities — New York Times
wipe out corruption
wipe out a debt
the depression wiped out his savings