EXTERMINATION Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

extermination

noun

as in destruction

the state or fact of being rendered nonexistent, physically unsound, or useless the virtual extermination of the native tribes by the colonizers

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of extermination Following the animal’s death and diagnosis, 64 rats that were killed through extermination or found dead on the San Diego Zoo property were examined, and two adult rats were found to be infected with lungworms and associated pneumonia. —

Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026 For the safest extermination method, spray the nest after dusk when the wasps are not active. —

Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 5 Mar. 2026 Besides extermination, these companies also may be able to assist with locating and sealing entry points or making other recommendations for exclusion. —

Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 27 Feb. 2026 Karski had managed to visit the Warsaw ghetto and a transit stop for the Bełżec extermination camp. —

Nicholas Lemann, New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2026 Steam Treatment An extermination team can also use hot steam or steam foam at temperatures of around 200 degrees Fahrenheit or higher to kill bed bugs. —

Rae Ford, Martha Stewart, 16 Feb. 2026 By the middle of the 20th century, decades of aggressive hunting, trapping, and mass poisoning had pushed the Lower 48’s gray wolves to the point of near extermination. —

Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 16 Feb. 2026 But when Mickey is cloned prematurely, resulting in multiple Mickeys, both Mickeys find themselves in danger of extermination. —

Ilana Gordon, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Feb. 2026 Leaders from around the world gathered in Jerusalem on Tuesday to highlight the global surge in antisemitism on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, marked annually on the anniversary of the 1945 liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi extermination camp. —

Amelie Botbol, FOXNews.com, 27 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for extermination

Noun

The Sacramento County Parks Department says there's been a big increase in vandalism and destruction of the nature preserve due to unauthorized use of off-road bicycles and e-bikes.

— James Taylor, CBS News, 31 Mar. 2026
After the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on.

— Ashlee Conour, Chicago Tribune, 30 Mar. 2026