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

In the aftermath of the massacre, around 258 claims were filed, but the government later enacted the Indemnity Act of 1961, shielding officials from legal liability and extinguishing the claims. — Michelle Gumede, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026

Twenty miles from the start of stage eight in Puçol, the biggest wildfire in 40 years in the city of Valencia was close to being extinguished but was still burning. — Chris Marshall-Bell, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026

With neither reality nor imagination offering an escape from tyranny, the film asks whether hope, memory and love can persevere when war threatens to extinguish them all. — Alexandra Patterson, Variety, 3 Sep. 2026

At the end of August, two fires were extinguished there within one week. — Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 2 Sep. 2026