as in destruction
the state or fact of being rendered nonexistent, physically unsound, or useless
the state's population of moose has been replenished, having once been hunted almost to extinction
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of extinction
Their presence spanned wide geographic ranges and a long evolutionary period, from over one million years ago to the extinction of woolly mammoths on Wrangel Island around 4,000 years ago.
—
Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2025
The lions were hunted to the brink of extinction in India, before a ban on killing the cats was put in place in Gujarat a century ago.
—Aishwarya S. Iyer, CNN Money, 31 Aug. 2025
The company published it earlier this summer as a way to spotlight makers at the highest level of their technique, whose rarefied expertise might otherwise be at risk of extinction.
—Naomi Rougeau, Robb Report, 31 Aug. 2025
By 1889, after being hunted nearly to extinction, that number dropped to under 1,000.
—Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for extinction
Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2025
The lions were hunted to the brink of extinction in India, before a ban on killing the cats was put in place in Gujarat a century ago.
—Aishwarya S. Iyer, CNN Money, 31 Aug. 2025
The company published it earlier this summer as a way to spotlight makers at the highest level of their technique, whose rarefied expertise might otherwise be at risk of extinction.
—Naomi Rougeau, Robb Report, 31 Aug. 2025
By 1889, after being hunted nearly to extinction, that number dropped to under 1,000.
—Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for extinction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extinction
Noun
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Critical wildlife habitat may be put at risk for alteration or wholesale destruction.—
Ryan Gellert,
Time,
9 Sep. 2025
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But tenants have little legal footing to stand on in combating that destruction.—
Max Klaver,
Miami Herald,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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And that's not where the worst of the devastation lies.—
Amira El-Fekki,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
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Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, published in three parts in the magazine in 1962 and later as a book, alerted the country to the devastation of the pesticide DDT and is credited with launching the modern environmental movement.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
1 Sep. 2025
Noun
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While not all of the federal government’s tariff revenue is at risk, losing a huge chunk would still create havoc on the deficit and bond market.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
7 Sep. 2025
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Steve gently coaxes him back to school, where the film crew is causing havoc.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Operating losses, management missteps — including a disastrous 2011 Super Bowl ad — and a rapid post-IPO decline in valuation led to the 2013 ouster of Mason as CEO.—
Robert Channick,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Sep. 2025
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Many animals have adapted to water scarcity, with seasonal migrations, nocturnal habits and burrowing during the worst of the heat to offset water loss.—
John Leos,
AZCentral.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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There is nothing to choose between them, but there was a consistency, clinical edge and an abracadabra touch that made this performance the best Alcaraz has played in a major final, barring that 2024 demolition of Novak Djokovic on Centre Court.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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Historic districts come with additional rules and regulations for renovations, construction and demolitions.—
Chris Higgins,
Kansas City Star,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Yet this divide-and-conquer approach, combined with the relentless attacks on civilians, has also entrenched resistance among ordinary Gazans, who now perceive Israel as undertaking a war of extermination.—
Leila Seurat,
Foreign Affairs,
26 Aug. 2025
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Palestinians and Israeli Jews also came to regard the other side’s actions as fulfillments of their own national nightmares, ethnic cleansing for one and extermination for the other.—
Hussein Agha,
New Yorker,
22 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Extinction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extinction. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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