uproot

verb

up·​root (ˌ)əp-ˈrüt  -ˈru̇t 

uprooted; uprooting; uproots

transitive verb

1

: to remove as if by pulling up

2

: to pull up by the roots

3

: to displace from a country or traditional habitat

uprootedness noun

uprooter noun

Synonyms

• corkscrew
• extract
• prize
• pry
• pull
• root (out)
• tear (out)
• wrest
• wring
• yank

Choose the Right Synonym for uproot

exterminate, extirpate, eradicate, uproot mean to effect the destruction or abolition of something.

exterminate implies complete and immediate extinction by killing off all individuals.

exterminate cockroaches

extirpate implies extinction of a race, family, species, or sometimes an idea or doctrine by destruction or removal of its means of propagation.

many species have been extirpated from the area

eradicate implies the driving out or elimination of something that has established itself.

a campaign to eradicate illiteracy

uproot implies a forcible or violent removal and stresses displacement or dislodgment rather than immediate destruction.

the war uprooted thousands

Examples of uproot in a Sentence

Many trees were uprooted by the storm.

Will we ever be able to uproot racial prejudice?

Taking the job would mean uprooting my family.

Recent Examples on the Web

Vegetables are uprooted from the ground, fish filleted, water fetched from a well. —Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 21 Dec. 2024

The storm devastated parts of Mayotte, uprooting trees and flattening neighborhoods into debris, according to videos circulating online by French media. —Nazaneen Ghaffar, New York Times, 15 Dec. 2024

Instead, when a certain vendor isn’t working out or loses pace with a company over time, customers should be able to replace them without having to uproot their entire tech stack. —Jeppe Rindom, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024

To date, as many people have been uprooted by Sudan’s war as by Ukraine’s against Russia, in half the time. —Ryan Lenora Brown, The Christian Science Monitor, 25 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1620, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

uproot

verb

up·​root (ˌ)ə-ˈprüt  -ˈpru̇t 

: to remove by or as if by pulling up by the roots

uproot a vine

families uprooted by war