as in to eradicate
to destroy all traces of
hope that the fumigant exterminates the whole colony of cockroaches, for any survivors may be resistant to any poison
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Recent Examples of exterminate
Tibbles and her feral offspring swiftly exterminated the island’s endemic Lyall’s wren — a flightless, songbird that had evolved without mammalian predators.
—
Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 26 Apr. 2025
When Sydney attempts to exterminate his little brother’s personal collection of creepy crawlies, Slade is mysteriously shrunken down and thrust into the center of a minuscule, yet no less epic, struggle taking place on his front lawn.
—Josh Weiss, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
The German occupiers, however, acted with barbaric brutality, exterminating local Jewish populations and starving to death approximately two million Soviet prisoners of war by March 1942.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
This early generation of Soviet spies was mostly exterminated during Stalin’s purges of the 1930s.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for exterminate
Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 26 Apr. 2025
When Sydney attempts to exterminate his little brother’s personal collection of creepy crawlies, Slade is mysteriously shrunken down and thrust into the center of a minuscule, yet no less epic, struggle taking place on his front lawn.
—Josh Weiss, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
The German occupiers, however, acted with barbaric brutality, exterminating local Jewish populations and starving to death approximately two million Soviet prisoners of war by March 1942.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
This early generation of Soviet spies was mostly exterminated during Stalin’s purges of the 1930s.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for exterminate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exterminate
Verb
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Volunteer in a California state park or join the local chapter of California Native Plant Society project to eradicate invasive plants and preserve native habitats.—
Nan Sterman,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 June 2025
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Surgeons removed her thyroid gland but did not fully eradicate the cancer, which had spread to her vocal cords, the paper said.—
Meg James,
Los Angeles Times,
6 June 2025
Verb
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So, this should lower those percentage gaps in time, if not erase them.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
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The voices and contributions of women and people of color were overlooked and erased through much of America’s military history.—
John Blake,
CNN Money,
26 May 2025
Verb
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The initiative has its critics, who fear that abolishing property taxes would leave local governments without sufficient funds to support crucial public services.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 June 2025
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The latter is known for his misogynistic statements, and has promised to follow through on Mr. Yoon’s commitment to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality & Family.—
Yejin Gim,
Christian Science Monitor,
2 June 2025
Verb
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Another key feature of algae oil is its high smoke point of 535 degrees—the temperature at which oil begins to break down, release dangerous chemicals, and destroy its nutrients.—
Jonathan Purtell,
Verywell Health,
27 May 2025
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During the week of my embed, the Russian military identified and destroyed a few of the Vampire pilots’ positions.—
Nataliya Gumenyuk,
The Atlantic,
27 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Exterminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exterminate. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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