extinct

adjective

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ex·tinct | \ ik-ˈstiŋ(k)t

, ˈek-ˌstiŋ(k)t

Definition of extinct

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : no longer burning

b : no longer active an extinct volcano

2 : no longer existing an extinct animal

3a : gone out of use : superseded

b : having no qualified claimant an extinct title

extinct

verb

extincted; extincting; extincts

Definition of extinct (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

archaic

: extinguish

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about extinct

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Synonyms & Antonyms for extinct

Synonyms: Adjective

Antonyms: Adjective

Examples of extinct in a Sentence

Adjective Many of these old traditions have since become extinct. a few overgrown ruins are all that remain of that once mighty but now extinct civilization

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Numerous pollinator species are already extinct or threatened with extinction. — Daniela De Lorenzo, Forbes, "Bayer Defeated In Legal Battle Against Pesticides Linked To Killing Bees," 7 May 2021 With the species functionally extinct in California, seaweed-eating purple urchins have proliferated, devouring bull kelp forests along a 200 mile stretch of the north coast where the sunflower sea star was the urchins’ main predator. — Todd Woody, Anchorage Daily News, "Scientists are breeding sea stars in a lab in a Jurassic Park approach to combating climate change," 3 May 2021 This isn’t the first time people have thought that bear markets had been rendered extinct. — Jason Zweig, WSJ, "What Happens When Stocks Only Go Up," 30 Apr. 2021 But modern politics, where power has tended to be used to the maximum and compromise is near extinct, doesn't work that way. — Stephen Collinson, CNN, "Biden's big climate pledge is another promise it will be hard to honor," 23 Apr. 2021 Basically, the scientists patched together the complete ancient genome using modern and extinct bears as templates—think about using a model of a bottlenose dolphin as a guide to assemble the body parts of a killer whale. — Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, "In ‘Moon Landing of Genomics,’ Scientists Sequence Ancient DNA From Dirt," 20 Apr. 2021 The researchers then sequenced the participants’ whole genomes from the banked samples and compared them to genomes from reference databases, including those of modern people in Near Oceania and extinct archaic humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans. — Michael Price, Science | AAAS, "Study reveals ‘exciting’ history of humans in Pacific. But critics blast lack of Indigenous input," 14 Apr. 2021 Beavers were likely once nearly extinct in Illinois. — Morgan Greene, chicagotribune.com, "Hundreds of residents rally to save beavers that made a home in Glenview development," 13 Apr. 2021 The recovered fossil skeleton is considered the most complete of its evolutionary branch —ctenacanth — that split from modern sharks and rays around 390 million years ago and went extinct around 60 million years later. — BostonGlobe.com, "‘Godzilla’ shark discovered in New Mexico gets formal name," 17 Apr. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'extinct.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.