expunge

ex·punge

transitive verb \ik-ˈspənj\

ex·pungedex·pung·ing

Definition of EXPUNGE

1

: to strike out, obliterate, or mark for deletion

2

: to efface completely : destroy

3

: to eliminate (as a memory) from one's consciousness

— ex·pung·er noun

Examples of EXPUNGE

1. <time and the weather have expunged any evidence that a thriving community once existed here>

Origin of EXPUNGE

Latin expungere to mark for deletion by dots, from ex- + pungere to prick — more at pungent

First Known Use: 1602

Related to EXPUNGE

Synonyms

abolish, black out, blot out, cancel, clean (up), efface, eradicate, erase, annihilate, exterminate, extirpate, liquidate, obliterate, root (out), rub out, snuff (out), stamp (out), sweep (away), wipe out

Related Words

decimate, demolish, destroy, devastate, ravage; dismantle, flatten, mow (down), raze, tear down; ruin, total, waste, wreck; blast, blow up, dash, dynamite, smash; atomize, consume, devour, dissolve, fragment, powder, pulverize, shatter, splinter; doom, finish, kill, kill off, terminate, zap; cancel, cut, discard, ditch, eject, excise, expel, jettison, oust, throw out

Near Antonyms

conserve, preserve, protect, save; build, construct, create, fabricate, fashion, forge, form, frame, make, manufacture, shape; fix, mend, patch, rebuild, recondition, reconstruct, renew, renovate, repair, restore, revamp