Synonyms of extinct

extinct

adjective

ik-ˈstiŋ(k)t 

as in defunct

no longer existing

a few overgrown ruins are all that remain of that once mighty but now extinct civilization

Synonyms & Similar Words

• defunct
• vanished
• gone
• expired
• obsolete
• done
• departed
• dead
• bygone
• faded
• fallen
• dying
• antiquated
• nonexistent
• nonextant
• moribund
• bypast
• collapsed
• lost
• terminated
• dated
• missing
• lapsed
• passé
• finished
• overthrown

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• alive
• existing
• extant
• living
• active
• existent
• dynamic
• thriving
• vibrant

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of extinct

As Wendorf points out, some 99% of the species that have ever existed are now extinct or have evolved into new forms. — Nell Derick Debevoise Dewey, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Visitors are taken back in time to imagine how this now extinct creature — three times the size of a modern-day great white shark — used to swim right over the National Mall. — Amy Delaura, The Washington Examiner, 31 July 2026

The now extinct lineage branched off after medieval European strains but before those that gave rise to modern smallpox. — Sam MacDonald, Scientific American, 30 July 2026

In June, a group of anxious European policy researchers issued Europe 2031, a scenario in which civilization between the Urals and the Atlantic ends up at least functionally extinct. — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 25 July 2026