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
The idea of the government and scientists saving us from giant insects no longer resonated with an audience growing increasingly aware of the larger perils of trying to exterminate them.
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Salama Udaipurwala, JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2024
Anderson tells the long, sorry story of the Texan project to exterminate or expel virtually all Indigenous tribes from their republic, then their state.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 8 July 2024
They can be told that Ukrainians are really Russians who want to be invaded and also Nazi satanists who must be exterminated.
—Timothy Snyder, Foreign Affairs, 6 Sep. 2022
As humans began exterminating larger predators like wolves and cougars, competing for prey wasn’t as hard a task for coyotes, Kathleen Kerwin, a program associate at the Wildlife Conservation and Management Program at Rutgers University, told Live Science.
—Marley Malenfant, Austin American-Statesman, 17 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for exterminate 
Salama Udaipurwala, JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2024
Anderson tells the long, sorry story of the Texan project to exterminate or expel virtually all Indigenous tribes from their republic, then their state.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 8 July 2024
They can be told that Ukrainians are really Russians who want to be invaded and also Nazi satanists who must be exterminated.
—Timothy Snyder, Foreign Affairs, 6 Sep. 2022
As humans began exterminating larger predators like wolves and cougars, competing for prey wasn’t as hard a task for coyotes, Kathleen Kerwin, a program associate at the Wildlife Conservation and Management Program at Rutgers University, told Live Science.
—Marley Malenfant, Austin American-Statesman, 17 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for exterminate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exterminate
Verb
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Israel then vowed to eradicate Hamas and have since devastated the Palestinian territory.John Mac Ghlionn, Newsweek, 14 Jan. 2025
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Killing female deer weakens a herd’s ability to grow, and officials thought that thinning out deer herds was the key to eradicating the disease and preserving wild herd health.Sophie Hartley, Scientific American, 10 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Nearby Altadena, a historically largely Black neighborhood, has essentially been erased from the map.Meagan Jordan, Rolling Stone, 15 Jan. 2025
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The odds are that the response will sit in an internal digital memory buffer for a while and not be immediately erased or discarded.Lance Eliot, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025
Verb
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That loophole remained open following the most recent U.S. election, which saw California voters shooting down Proposition 6, which would have abolished prison labor.Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 11 Jan. 2025
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So legislation abolishing the department (already written by GOP Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota) would have to pass through budget reconciliation, which lets certain legislation pass with a mere majority in the Senate.Dylan Matthews, Vox, 2 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Some 12,000 structures — buildings and cars — have been destroyed so far, and with them many tons of property of all levels of sentimental meaning.Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Jan. 2025
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This year, however, will be a much more muted affair, as the Palisades and Eaton Fires have destroyed thousands of homes, killed 25 people and forced more than 150,000 residents to evacuate.Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 15 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near exterminate
Cite this Entry
“Exterminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exterminate. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
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