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
Dachau wasn’t created to exterminate Jews: the Nazis opened it in 1933, soon after Hitler took power, and among the first held there were Communists, Social Democrats, and other political opponents.
—
Massimo Calabresi/dachau, TIME, 22 Feb. 2025
In the human body, for example, phages typically don’t exterminate their host bacteria.
—Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
Inside the Auschwitz concentration camp complex, the soldiers liberated roughly 7,000 prisoners who had been brutalized by a Nazi regime hell-bent on exterminating the Jewish people.
—Jesse Kirsch, NBC News, 27 Jan. 2025
The Germans exterminated about a million Jews in Auschwitz-Birkenau.
—Martin Kimel, Baltimore Sun, 26 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for exterminate
Massimo Calabresi/dachau, TIME, 22 Feb. 2025
In the human body, for example, phages typically don’t exterminate their host bacteria.
—Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
Inside the Auschwitz concentration camp complex, the soldiers liberated roughly 7,000 prisoners who had been brutalized by a Nazi regime hell-bent on exterminating the Jewish people.
—Jesse Kirsch, NBC News, 27 Jan. 2025
The Germans exterminated about a million Jews in Auschwitz-Birkenau.
—Martin Kimel, Baltimore Sun, 26 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for exterminate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exterminate
Verb
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Measles is a disease that has been considered largely eradicated in the United states for more than 20 years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.—
Kendrick Calfee,
Kansas City Star,
14 Mar. 2025
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The president signed an executive order in January that would help eradicate DEI programs across the federal government, with Cabinet members carrying out the order in various ways.—
Filip Timotija,
The Hill,
13 Mar. 2025
Verb
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That’s the short list of what this state’s brilliant educational minds, who are clearly raising absolutely no teenage boys, expect to erase.—
Pat Beall,
Orlando Sentinel,
16 Mar. 2025
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Time travel stories often feature grim themes of destruction and butterfly effect scenarios where even a single change can lead to disastrous outcomes (like Marty almost erasing himself from existence in Back to the Future).—
Hayes Madsen,
Rolling Stone,
16 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Even before abolishing the department, the Trump administration blocked student loan forgiveness and repayment plans, slashed department staffing, and wiped the federal watchdog agency tasked with overseeing student loan servicing and collections.—
Sareen Habeshian,
Axios,
21 Mar. 2025
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What is Trump's justification for abolishing the department?—
Joey Garrison,
USA TODAY,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Tornadoes pose a severe risk to life and property, with their powerful winds capable of destroying homes, overturning vehicles, and uprooting trees.—
Mark Davis,
Newsweek,
16 Mar. 2025
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Taking on the role of a teenage boy named Chrono, players have to travel through time and assemble a team to stop a horrifying creature named Lavos from destroying the world.—
Hayes Madsen,
Rolling Stone,
16 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Exterminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exterminate. Accessed 29 Mar. 2025.
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