English Explanatory Dictionary

uproot

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb

To tear up (a plant, etc.) by the roots, or as if by the roots; to extirpate, to root up.
To destroy (something) utterly; to eradicate, exterminate.
To remove (someone or something) from a familiar circumstance, especially suddenly and unwillingly.
Of oneself or someone: to move away from a familiar environment (for example, to live elsewhere).

noun

The act of uprooting something.

verb

Of a pig or other animal: to dig up (something in the ground) using the snout; to rummage for (something) in the ground; to grub up, to root, to rout.

Pronunciation

/ˌʌpˈɹuːt/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-uproot.wav /ˌʌpˈɹut/

Word forms

uproot uproots uprooting uprooted

Etymology

PIE word *wréh₂ds From up- (prefix indicating a higher direction or position) + root (“to tear up by the roots; (figuratively) to remove forcibly from a place; to eradicate, exterminate”, verb). Root is derived from root (“underground part of a plant”, noun), from Middle English rote, from Old English rōt, rōte, from Old Norse rót, from Proto-Germanic *wrōts, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds (“root”).

Synonyms

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

Derived words

uprootal uprooted uprootedness uprooter uprooting

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