English Explanatory Dictionary

extirpate

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To clear an area of roots and stumps.
  2. To pull up by the roots; uproot.
  3. To destroy completely; to annihilate.
  4. To cause a population to go extinct in a particular region, but not across the entire range of the species or subspecies.
  5. To surgically remove.
adj
  1. Extirpated
  2. Rooted out, extinct, utterly destroyed.

Pronunciation

/ˈɛkstəpeɪt/ /ˈɛkstɚpeɪt/ en-us-extirpate.ogg

Word forms

extirpate extirpates extirpating extirpated more extirpate most extirpate

Etymology

The verb is first attested in 1538, the adjective in 1541; borrowed from Latin exstirpātus perfect passive participle of exstirpō (“to uproot”), from ex- (“out of”) + stirps (“the lower part of the trunk of a tree, including the roots; the stem, stalk”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)). Doublet of extirp. Common participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.

Synonyms

uproot eradicate extricate deracinate annihilate destroy exterminate aerosolize atomize benothing bewreck blot out blotto dash decompose demolish desolate devastate diffuse disintegrate disperse dissolve eliminate erase extinguish extirpate fordo fuck harry jazz lay waste level liquidate nuke obliterate overthrow overturn pull down pulverize race raze ravage ravel remove ruin ruinate stamp out total subvert unbreed unexist unmake waste wipe out wipe off wreck excise

Related words

extirp extirpation extirpative extirpator
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