Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Exterminate
Ex-ter′mi-nate
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Exterminated
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Exterminating
.] [L.
exterminatus
, p. p. of exterminare
to abolish, destroy, drive out or away; ex
out + terminus
boundary, limit. See Term
.] 1.
To drive out or away; to expel.
They deposed,
exterminated
, and deprived him of communion. Barrow.
2.
To destroy utterly; to cut off; to extirpate; to annihilate; to root out;
as, to
exterminate
a colony, a tribe, or a nation; to exterminate
error or vice.To explode and
exterminate
rank atheism. Bentley.
3.
(Math.)
To eliminate, as unknown quantities.
[R.]
Webster 1828 Edition
Exterminate
EXTERM'INATE
,Verb.
T.
Literally, to drive from within the limits or borders. Hence,
1.
To destroy utterly; to drive away; to extirpate; as, to exterminate a colony, a tribe or a nation; to exterminate inhabitants or a race of men.2.
To eradicate; to root out; to extirpate; as, to exterminate error, heresy, infidelity or atheism; to exterminate vice.3.
To root out, as plants; to extirpate; as, to exterminate weeds.4.
In algebra, to take away; as, to exterminate surds or unknown quantities.Definition 2024
exterminate
exterminate
English
Verb
exterminate (third-person singular simple present exterminates, present participle exterminating, simple past and past participle exterminated)
- (transitive) To kill all of a population, usually deliberate and especially applied to pests.
- We'll use poison to exterminate the rats.
- (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
- (to kill all): annihilate, eradicate, extermine, uproot
- (to bring an end to): stamp out
- See also Wikisaurus:destroy
Derived terms
Derived terms
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Related terms
Translations
to kill all of a population
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to bring a definite end to, finish completely
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