terminate

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin terminātus, past participle of terminō (“I set bounds to, bound, limit, end, close, terminate”), from terminus (“a bound, limit, end”); see term, terminus. Doublet of termine.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɝmɪneɪt/

Verb

1. (transitive or intransitive) To end, especially in an incomplete state.

   to terminate a surface by a line

   to terminate an effort, or a controversy

   • (Can we date this quote by J. S. Harford and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     During this interval of calm and prosperity, he terminated two figures of slaves, destined for the tomb, in an incomparable style of art.

2. (transitive or intransitive) To set or be a limit or boundary to.
3. (transitive, euphemistic) To kill.
4. (transitive, euphemistic) To end the employment contract of an employee; to fire, lay off.

Synonyms

• (to end incompletely): discontinue, stop, break off
• (to kill): See also Thesaurus:kill

Antonyms

• (to end incompletely): continue

Related terms

• terminable
• termination
• terminator
• terminus

 

Translations

to end incompletely

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 結束／结束 (zh) (jiéshù), 終止／终止 (zh) (zhōngzhǐ), 了結／了结 (zh) (liǎojié)

• Dutch: beëindigen (nl), termineren (nl)
• Finnish: lopettaa (fi), päättää (fi)
• French: terminer (fr)
• Galician: terminar (gl)
• Georgian: შეწყვეტა (šec̣q̇veṭa), გაწყვეტა (gac̣q̇veṭa)
• German: abbrechen (de), terminieren (de)
• Greek: διακόπτω (el) (diakópto)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hebrew: סיים (siyém)
• Italian: cessare (it), terminare (it)
• Japanese: 止める (ja) (yameru), 打ち切る (uchikiru)
• Maori: porotūtuki, porotukituki, tauporo, whakamutu, keremutu
• Portuguese: terminar (pt)
• Romanian: termina (ro)
• Russian: заверша́ть (ru) (zaveršátʹ), конча́ть (ru) (končátʹ)
• Spanish: terminar (es)

to kill

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 殺害／杀害 (zh) (shāhài), 殺死／杀死 (zh) (shāsǐ), 解決／解决 (zh) (jiějué) (slang), 幹掉／干掉 (zh) (gàndiào) (slang), 幹／干 (zh) (gàn) (slang)

• Georgian: ბოლოს მოღება (bolos moɣeba), განადგურება (ganadgureba)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 消す (ja) (kesu)
• Portuguese: cancelar (pt)
• Spanish: acabar (es)

to end the employment contract

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 解僱／解雇 (zh) (jiěgù) (formal), 解約／解约 (zh) (jiěyuē) (formal), 炒 (zh) (chǎo) (slang), 炒魷魚／炒鱿鱼 (zh) (chǎo yóuyú) (slang)

• Finnish: irtisanoa (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: entlassen (de)
• Irish: cuir ar scor
• Japanese: 解約する (ja) (kaiyaku suru), 解雇する (ja) (kaiko suru)

See also

• abort

Further reading

• “terminate”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “terminate”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Adjective

terminate (comparative more terminate, superlative most terminate)

1. Terminated; limited; bounded; ended.
2. Having a definite and clear limit or boundary; having a determinate size, shape or magnitude.

   Mountains on the Moon cast shadows that are very dark, terminate and more distinct than those cast by mountains on the Earth.

3. (mathematics) Expressible in a finite number of terms; (of a decimal) not recurring or infinite.

   One third is a recurring decimal, but one half is a terminate decimal.

References

• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “terminate”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

Anagrams

• Marinette, antimeter, intermate, tetramine, tretamine

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Italian

Verb

terminate

1. second-person plural present indicative of terminare
2. second-person plural present subjunctive of terminare
3. second-person plural imperative of terminare

Verb

terminate f pl

1. feminine plural of terminato

Anagrams

• attenermi
• meritante

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Latin

Verb

(deprecated template usage) termināte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of terminō

References

• “terminate”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press