English Explanatory Dictionary

extinction

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The action of making or becoming extinct; annihilation.
  2. The absorption or scattering of electromagnetic radiation emitted by astronomical objects by intervening dust and gas before it reaches the observer.
  3. The inability to perceive multiple stimuli simultaneously.
  4. The fading of a conditioned response over time if it is not reinforced.

Pronunciation

/ɪkˈstɪŋkʃən/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-extinction.wav

Word forms

extinction extinctions

Etymology

From late Middle English, borrowed from Latin extinctio (“extinction, annihilation”), from extinguere, past participle extinctus (“to extinguish”); see extinguish.

Related words

extinct extinguish

Derived words

coextinction Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event de-extinction extinctionism extinctionist hemiextinction nonextinction pseudoextinction semiextinction age of extinction extinction burst extinction event → Triassic-Jurassic extinction event extinction level event extinction memory interstellar extinction K-T extinction event language extinction mass extinction partial discharge extinction voltage Permian-Triassic extinction
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