ROOT (OUT) Synonyms: 149 Similar and Opposite Words

root (out)

verb

Definition of root (out)

as in to eradicate

to destroy all traces of a concerted effort to root out prejudice of any kind in the armed services

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to pull

to draw out by force or with effort a dog rooting out a buried toy

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to find

to come upon after searching, study, or effort a journalist seeking to root out and expose corruption in the gaming industry

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for root (out)

Verb

Scientists have been fighting a losing battle to eradicate them from sensitive ecosystems in South Florida.

— Alex Harris August 25, Miami Herald, 25 Aug. 2026
How to Get Rid of Bermuda Grass Bermuda grass can take years to eradicate once it’s established, says Rossi.

— SJ McShane, Martha Stewart, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of eradicate

Verb

Pratt fouled off Thornton’s first pitch and then pulled back his bat on the second one, a fastball right down the middle.

— ABC News, ABC News, 26 Aug. 2026
Washington has turned to pulling economic levers six months into a war on Iran that has ground to a stalemate militarily, with peace talks stalled and most traffic through the crucial Strait of Hormuz blocked.

— Tucker Reals, CBS News, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of pull

Verb

Following a breakaway, Barbra Banda found Haley McCutcheon at the top of the box for the first-time finish and 1-0 lead in the third minute.

— Phuoc Nguyen, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2026
While all of the women found their respective moment to shine, no one rose to the occasion quite like Luann de Lesseps, who seemingly decided on her own that Kyle’s white party would be the perfect backdrop for a cabaret performance like none other.

— Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of find

Verb

But Bama followed with a 38-3 quarterfinal flop to Indiana, erasing any momentum and placing DeBoer squarely under the microscope entering a pivotal third season.

— Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026
The 68-year-old also lost her husband and her son, who worked at a local hydropower plant, in the flash floods that hit the region on Wednesday, erasing entire communities.

— Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of erase

Verb

Early in this year’s war, the United States and Israel considered launching ground operations to extract nuclear material but never initiated them, judging them to be highly risky and unlikely to affect the regime’s decision-making.

— Nate Swanson, Foreign Affairs, 25 Aug. 2026
With the clock racing down to find Joe before she's extracted out of the country to her death, the team launches an assault against an airport hangar.

— David Hookstead OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of extract

Verb

The sixth-year forward is an athletic rebounder and has learned to fill the gaps created by defenses focusing on Wilson in the frontcourt.

— Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2026
From the moment Billie learns about Sophie-Rose, the teenager who inherited her legendary fake ID after it was already passed down to multiple other Gen-Z blondes, she’s obsessed.

— Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of learn

Verb

While his party debates abolishing prisons and owning grocery stores, Democratic Mayor Daniel Lurie is cleaning up his city.

— Kate Andrews, Washington Post, 27 Aug. 2026
Alabama has since abolished judicial override, the practice that allowed judges to order the state to kill a person even though a jury of one’s peers requested otherwise.

— Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of abolish

Verb

Participants will yank invasive plants to help restore the canyon.

— Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026
In Berkeley, where California clay culture yanked ceramics out of the category of polite craft and into something huge, physical, ugly, and beautiful, Heilmann learned to weld.

— Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of yank

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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rooting (out)

root (out)

roots

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Style

“Root (out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/root%20%28out%29. Accessed 30 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of root (out)

verb

Example Sentences

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