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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Recent Examples of extermination
The La Jolla Shores Hotel is tented and closed for about a week for termite extermination.
—
Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
Her foundation helped fund a plan with the mayor of Bucharest in Romania to sterilize hundreds of thousands of stray dogs in the city, as an alternative to extermination.
—Veronique Greenwood, Time, 28 Dec. 2025
And, indeed, Jewish history is fraught with stretches of harsh conditions, including persecution, exile and extermination.
—Josh Dinner, Space.com, 14 Dec. 2025
But by 1970, almost none existed in the wild, a consequence of hunting and extermination.
—Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 28 Nov. 2025
At extermination camps, the Nazis burned the remains of Jewish victims in crematoria to hide evidence of genocide.
—Jesse Kirsch, NBC news, 4 Nov. 2025
In Danis Tanovic’s underseen drama, Farrell plays an Irish war photographer who gets separated from his best friend and colleague in Iraqi Kurdistan in the prelude to Saddam Hussein’s 1988 extermination campaign against the Kurds.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
In New Zealand, a nationwide extermination campaign is underway.
—NPR, 26 Oct. 2025
The study continued until deportations to the Treblinka extermination camp, where many of the researchers would ultimately perish, began, in 1942.
—Clayton Dalton, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2025
Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
Her foundation helped fund a plan with the mayor of Bucharest in Romania to sterilize hundreds of thousands of stray dogs in the city, as an alternative to extermination.
—Veronique Greenwood, Time, 28 Dec. 2025
And, indeed, Jewish history is fraught with stretches of harsh conditions, including persecution, exile and extermination.
—Josh Dinner, Space.com, 14 Dec. 2025
But by 1970, almost none existed in the wild, a consequence of hunting and extermination.
—Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 28 Nov. 2025
At extermination camps, the Nazis burned the remains of Jewish victims in crematoria to hide evidence of genocide.
—Jesse Kirsch, NBC news, 4 Nov. 2025
In Danis Tanovic’s underseen drama, Farrell plays an Irish war photographer who gets separated from his best friend and colleague in Iraqi Kurdistan in the prelude to Saddam Hussein’s 1988 extermination campaign against the Kurds.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
In New Zealand, a nationwide extermination campaign is underway.
—NPR, 26 Oct. 2025
The study continued until deportations to the Treblinka extermination camp, where many of the researchers would ultimately perish, began, in 1942.
—Clayton Dalton, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extermination
Noun
-
Since the boycott, PEN has donated to Palestinian aid organizations, highlighted writers and journalists who have been targeted and killed by Israel, and released a report on the deliberate destruction of Palestinian cultural heritage.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Consumers and retailers should destroy affected products and not return them, as Gold Star will issue refunds with proof of destruction.—
Michele Laufik,
Martha Stewart,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Yet amid the loss, in the year since the devastation, the community has not faltered.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Jan. 2026
-
The result was economic devastation on a historic scale.—
Jorge Valencia,
NPR,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
That one saw John Garrity (Butler) maximizing his privilege by leading his estranged wife, Allison (Morena Baccarin), and their diabetic son, Nathan, to an extinction-proof shelter that had been reserved for people like them.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Although commercial whaling once pushed the species to the brink of extinction, fin whale populations in the Atlantic have shown signs of recovery in recent decades following international bans and protections under laws such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act.—
Moná Thomas,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Christian Barmore created a little more havoc against the run and pass than usual, but his only pressure was contained to the second quarter.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Dewan shared Fillion's sense of the havoc Monica is likely to cause in season 8.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
To accommodate the demolition and removal of the bridge, temporary lane closures will occur for five nights on the lower/arrivals level at the airport, and for two nights on the upper/departure level.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
-
In early 2025, the new owner submitted demolition permits to destroy the structures.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
But those guards fell crashing down on Wednesday night in a brutally honest assessment of his team following Boise State’s (9-6, 1-3 Mountain West) 75-58 home loss to Grand Canyon (9-5, 2-1) at ExtraMile Arena.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Despite the losses, Damon traveled to Texas and won the national title, dedicating the victory to his family and supporters.—
Nina Burns,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Extermination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extermination. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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