English Explanatory Dictionary

extinct

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj

Of fire, etc.: no longer alight; of a light, etc.: no longer shining; extinguished, quenched.
Of feelings, a person's spirit, a state of affairs, etc.: put out, as if like a fire; quenched, suppressed.
Of customs, ideas, laws and legal rights, offices, organizations, languages, etc.: no longer existing or in use; defunct, discontinued, obsolete; specifically, of a title of nobility: no longer having any person qualified to hold it.
Of an animal or plant species or group of species, a group of people, a family, etc., having no living members, representatives, or descendants.
Of a geological feature: no longer active; specifically, of a volcano: no longer erupting.
Of a radioisotope: no longer occurring primordially due to having decayed away completely, because it has a relatively short half-life.
Of a person: dead; also, permanently separated from others.

verb

Synonym of extinguish.
To stop (fire, etc.) from burning; also, to stop (light, etc.) from shining; to put out, to quench.
To kill (someone).
To put an end to (something) completely; to annihilate, to destroy.
To cause (an animal or plant species) to die out completely or become extinct (adjective etymology 1 sense 2.3).
To suppress (something, as feelings, a person's spirit, a state of affairs, etc.); to quench.
To abolish or make void (a law, a legal right, etc.); also, to cancel (a creditor's claim, a license, etc.).

noun

Synonym of extinction (“the action of becoming or making extinct; annihilation”).

Pronunciation

/ɪkˈstɪŋkt/ /ɪkˈstɪŋt/ /ɛk-/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-extinct.wav En-us-extinct.oga

Word forms

extinct extincts extincting extincted

Etymology

From Late Middle English extinct (“eliminated, eradicated, extinguished”), from Latin extīnctus, exstīnctus (“extinguished, quenched; destroyed, killed; made extinct”), the perfect passive participles of extinguō, exstinguō (“to extinguish, put out, quench; (figurative) to abolish; to destroy, kill”), from ex- (prefix meaning ‘away; out’) + stinguō (“to extinguish, put out, quench”) (from Proto-Indo-European *stengʷ- (“to push”)). The Middle English word displaced Middle English aqueint, aquenched (“extinct; extinguished”). Doublet of extinguish.

Synonyms

anachronistic antediluvial antediluvian antiquated antique archaic backward backwards behind the times cobwebbed cobwebby dated defunct desuete discontinued disused dootsie elderly extinct expired fossilized Havishamesque hoary idle Miss Havishamesque mouldy obsolete old oldfangled old-fashioned old school outdated outmoded out of date out of fashion outworn parachronistic passé primitive superannuated superseded unemployed unoccupied venerable workless absent beingless inessential inexistent nonexistent null zilch asleep at rest blessed cadaverous clay-cold deceased resting decomposed

Antonyms

alight burning inextinct unextinct abuzz active agile airy alive animate animated brisk busy busy as a bee buxom buzzing diligent driven driving dynamic eager effervescent energetic enthusiastic expeditious frisky gay genki glowing happy hearty impetuous industrious keen kinetic lively merry mobile motivated moving nimble peppy perky restive sassy snappy spirited sprightly sprunt spry vibrant vigorous vivacious vivid wanton youthful zealous zestful zippy extant

Related words

distinct extinction extinctive extinctively extinguish nonextinction semiextinction

Derived words

coextinct extinctic extinct language extinctness extinctor extinctual extincture inextinct nonextinct pseudoextinct semiextinct unextinct extincted extincting

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