as in defunct
no longer existing
a few overgrown ruins are all that remain of that once mighty but now extinct civilization
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Recent Examples of extinct
Using the Subaru Telescope located at the summit of the extinct volcano Maunkea in Hawai'i, astronomers have captured a stunning image of a spiral galaxy that resembles a spinning cosmic wheel.
—
Robert Lea, Space.com, 3 Mar. 2026
Today, four are extinct and seven are endangered or threatened.
—ABC News, 26 Feb. 2026
Bitter Guana Cay in the Bahamas is home to the rare Exuma Island iguana, a nearly extinct species found nowhere else in the world.
—Madeline Weinfield, Travel + Leisure, 26 Feb. 2026
But the species wasn’t extinct just yet.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 25 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for extinct
Robert Lea, Space.com, 3 Mar. 2026
Today, four are extinct and seven are endangered or threatened.
—ABC News, 26 Feb. 2026
Bitter Guana Cay in the Bahamas is home to the rare Exuma Island iguana, a nearly extinct species found nowhere else in the world.
—Madeline Weinfield, Travel + Leisure, 26 Feb. 2026
But the species wasn’t extinct just yet.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 25 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for extinct
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extinct
Adjective
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Damaged or defunct spacecraft also pose a growing problem.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Mar. 2026
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The first one being Bruce Lee, who once had a martial arts studio in an unmarked building (which Joe found using a now-defunct History Channel app).—
Xuan Juliana Wang,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Room by room, the author takes us through the house, now long gone.—
Mary Ann Grossmann,
Twin Cities,
8 Feb. 2026
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Retaining Hall, 39, keeps one familiar face from Dart’s rookie year on the offensive side of the building for his second NFL season, with Brian Daboll, Mike Kafka and Shea Tierney all long gone.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Democrats are hoping to make the expired subsidies an issue in the midterms, after bipartisan talks to revive them faltered.—
Morgan Chalfant,
semafor.com,
12 Mar. 2026
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Charles had an expired certification necessary to drive a bus at the time of the accident, the family’s lawsuit states, which was known to Transdev.—
Grace Zokovitch,
Boston Herald,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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If a data center is shut down and the building is set to become something else, the data center’s owner would be required to remove all obsolete equipment like chillers and generators from the site.—
R. Christian Smith,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Mar. 2026
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The cars are new, the engines are new, the rules are new, and the pecking order that Lando Norris mastered last season may already be obsolete.—
The Athletic,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Extinct.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extinct. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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