exterminate

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪt

• IPA: /ikˈstɜrmɪˌneɪt/

Etymology

From Latin exterminatus, past participle of exterminare 'exterminate', itself from ex- + terminare 'to end' (from terminus 'limit, end')

Verb

exterminate (third-person singular simple present exterminates, present participle exterminating, simple past and past participle exterminated)

1. (transitive) To kill all of a population, usually deliberate and especially applied to pests.

   We'll use poison to exterminate the rats.

2. (figuratively) (transitive) 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

Synonyms

• annihilate
• eradicate
• extermine
• uproot
• See also Wikisaurus:destroy

Derived terms

• extermination
• exterminator
• exterminatory

Related terms

• term
• terminate
• termination
• terminator

Translations

to kill all of a population

Czech: vyhladit, vyhubit Danish: udrydde (da)

Dutch: uitroeien, verdelgen Portuguese: exterminar (pt), erradicar (pt) Russian: истреблять (ru) (istr'ebl'át') impf., истребить (ru) (istr'ebít´) pf.

to bring a definite end to, finish completely

Dutch: afmaken (nl), beëindigen (nl), uitroeien (nl) Kurdish: له‌ناوبردن

Portuguese: exterminar (pt), aniquilar (pt) Russian: уничтожать (ru) (uničtožát´) impf., уничтожить (ru) (uničtóžit') pf.

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

French: exterminer, anéantir German: ausrotten Portuguese: exterminar

---

Latin

Verb

extermināte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of exterminō