Synonyms of extinguish

extinguish

verb

ik-ˈstiŋ-(g)wish 

1

as in to choke

to cause to cease burning

the fire in the skillet was quickly extinguished by slamming the lid on

Synonyms & Similar Words

• choke
• quench
• blanket
• douse
• put out
• snuff (out)
• smother
• suffocate
• blow out
• stamp (out)
• stub
• snub (out)
• rub out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fire
• light
• ignite
• kindle
• inflame

2

as in to destroy

to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of

a fatal blunder that extinguished all hope that the team would actually win the play-offs

Synonyms & Similar Words

• destroy
• demolish
• ruin
• shatter
• devastate
• overcome
• wreck
• smash
• annihilate
• damage
• vaporize
• waste
• erode
• decimate
• raze
• pulverize
• ravage
• kill
• desolate
• pull down
• tear down
• cream
• subdue
• dismantle
• remove
• defeat
• rub out
• total
• mar
• cripple
• crush
• nuke
• injure
• break
• conquer
• eradicate
• impair
• wrack
• do in
• dissolve
• best
• blast
• disintegrate
• surmount
• harm
• obliterate
• lick
• spoil
• trim
• prevail (over)
• deteriorate
• vitiate
• master
• win (against)
• exterminate
• extirpate
• triumph (over)
• expunge
• disfigure
• undo
• mutilate
• wear (away)
• rout
• sweep (away)
• liquidate
• scotch
• thrash
• whip
• beat
• dynamite
• blow up
• efface
• assassinate
• deface
• slay
• disassemble
• wipe out
• wash out
• clobber
• trounce
• mangle
• scour
• overbear
• execute
• unmake
• slaughter
• fell
• plunder
• overmatch
• trample
• sack
• take down
• blot out
• despoil
• cut down
• drub
• pillage
• zap
• snuff (out)
• kill off
• stamp (out)
• murder
• massacre
• dispatch
• loot
• havoc
• skunk
• vandalize
• gut
• take out
• mow (down)
• wallop
• unbuild
• dilapidate
• trash
• root (out)
• butcher

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• build
• construct
• raise
• create
• set up
• erect
• put up
• repair
• fix
• produce
• rear
• patch
• make
• establish
• invent
• protect
• found
• form
• mend
• preserve
• manufacture
• constitute
• assemble
• forge
• shape
• save
• organize
• fabricate
• conserve
• mold
• bring about
• recondition
• restore
• revamp
• frame
• institute
• fashion
• rebuild
• reconstruct
• doctor
• renovate
• father
• remodel

3

as in to shush

to stop the noise or speech of

her final, telling point extinguished her opponents on the city council

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shush
• silence
• settle
• mute
• quell
• quiet
• hush
• dumb
• still
• shut up
• squelch
• quieten

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• stir
• agitate

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of extinguish

When some youngsters in Rome tried to set a dumpster on fire, others quickly extinguished the blaze, keen to avoid the type of violence that has marred similar protests in France. — Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2026

About 90 minutes before the bodies were found, police officers were called to an Oberlin College campus parking lot to support firefighters extinguishing a fire in a vehicle that was registered to Jones. — Hikmat Mohammed, ARTnews.com, 30 Oct. 2026

The regime will extinguish dissent, bids for reform, and any networks that strive to operate or even seem to operate beyond the state’s control. — Jieun Baek, Foreign Affairs, 30 Oct. 2026

Firefighters extinguished the fire and an unresponsive victim was discovered inside, police said. — Deanese Williams-Harris, Chicago Tribune, 30 Oct. 2026