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
Putin’s war aims to exterminate Ukraine as such.
—
Literary Hub, 18 Dec. 2025
In other words, by that point, almost all Indigenous peoples had been exterminated by disease or whatever, or pushed out of the way, and to some extent given smaller reservations to inhabit and the like.
—JSTOR Daily, 19 Nov. 2025
While the sicko elites bask in the violence, Kawaji sees the Kodoku as a means of exterminating the remaining samurai, who have staged multiple rebellions against the Japanese empire.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Nov. 2025
By 1883 the animals were virtually exterminated, said Smith, a retired University of Nebraska-Omaha history professor.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 13 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for exterminate
Literary Hub, 18 Dec. 2025
In other words, by that point, almost all Indigenous peoples had been exterminated by disease or whatever, or pushed out of the way, and to some extent given smaller reservations to inhabit and the like.
—JSTOR Daily, 19 Nov. 2025
While the sicko elites bask in the violence, Kawaji sees the Kodoku as a means of exterminating the remaining samurai, who have staged multiple rebellions against the Japanese empire.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Nov. 2025
By 1883 the animals were virtually exterminated, said Smith, a retired University of Nebraska-Omaha history professor.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 13 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for exterminate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exterminate
Verb
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Foege, a key player in the global effort to eradicate smallpox, was stationed by the CDC in India in the early 1970s, helping that country with the gargantuan challenge of stopping spread of this horrible disease within its borders.—
Helen Branswell,
STAT,
25 Jan. 2026
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At the same time, the nation is seeing an increase in some diseases once considered eradicated here, particularly measles.—
Mike Danahey,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Therefore, telling the story in graphic form on behalf of Ukrainians themselves, explaining the preconditions for Russia’s attempts to erase Ukraine as a sovereign country and Ukrainians as an ethnic group, became extremely relevant.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
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The Clippers erased a second double-digit deficit behind a 14-3 run to open the second quarter and took a 33-31 lead on Leonard’s pull-up jumper.—
Oc Register,
Oc Register,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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More than half of independents now approve of abolishing ICE, once a rallying cry of progressives.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
28 Jan. 2026
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Video footage shows Omar was calling for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for Homeland Security Kristi Noem to resign when the suspect jumped in front of her and sprayed the liquid on her shirt.—
Philip Wang,
Time,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But when a man from Anne’s past returns from war, a curse begins to take shape through a mysterious knight and threatens to destroy them all.—
Jessica Radloff,
Glamour,
1 Feb. 2026
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Plenty of plants were destroyed in the Eaton and Palisades fires, of course, especially highly flammable shrubs like tall, skinny arborvitae.—
Jeanette Marantos,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Exterminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exterminate. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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