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
Tibbles and her feral offspring swiftly exterminated the island’s endemic Lyall’s wren — a flightless, songbird that had evolved without mammalian predators.
—
Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 26 Apr. 2025
When Sydney attempts to exterminate his little brother’s personal collection of creepy crawlies, Slade is mysteriously shrunken down and thrust into the center of a minuscule, yet no less epic, struggle taking place on his front lawn.
—Josh Weiss, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
The German occupiers, however, acted with barbaric brutality, exterminating local Jewish populations and starving to death approximately two million Soviet prisoners of war by March 1942.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
This early generation of Soviet spies was mostly exterminated during Stalin’s purges of the 1930s.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for exterminate
Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 26 Apr. 2025
When Sydney attempts to exterminate his little brother’s personal collection of creepy crawlies, Slade is mysteriously shrunken down and thrust into the center of a minuscule, yet no less epic, struggle taking place on his front lawn.
—Josh Weiss, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
The German occupiers, however, acted with barbaric brutality, exterminating local Jewish populations and starving to death approximately two million Soviet prisoners of war by March 1942.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
This early generation of Soviet spies was mostly exterminated during Stalin’s purges of the 1930s.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for exterminate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exterminate
Verb
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Volunteer in a California state park or join the local chapter of California Native Plant Society project to eradicate invasive plants and preserve native habitats.—
Nan Sterman,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 June 2025
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Surgeons removed her thyroid gland but did not fully eradicate the cancer, which had spread to her vocal cords, the paper said.—
Meg James,
Los Angeles Times,
6 June 2025
Verb
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Nail polish remover: Use a small amount of nail polish remover on a cotton ball to erase scuffs.—
Maryal Miller Carter,
USA Today,
7 June 2025
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Awake used an isolated case to discriminate, marginalize, intimidate and erase transgender people and to call for defunding public schools.—
Naperville Sun,
Chicago Tribune,
6 June 2025
Verb
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The initiative has its critics, who fear that abolishing property taxes would leave local governments without sufficient funds to support crucial public services.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 June 2025
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The latter is known for his misogynistic statements, and has promised to follow through on Mr. Yoon’s commitment to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality & Family.—
Yejin Gim,
Christian Science Monitor,
2 June 2025
Verb
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The first move for a mistrial from Combs’ legal team occurred at the end of May, after prosecutors asked Los Angeles Fire Department arson investigator Lance Jimenez if fingerprint evidence related to the bombing of Kid Cudi's car had been destroyed.—
Toria Sheffield,
People.com,
8 June 2025
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Aid distributed inside Israeli military zones Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians are almost completely reliant on international aid because nearly all food production capabilities have been destroyed.—
Wafaa Shurafa,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Exterminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exterminate. Accessed 12 Jun. 2025.
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