as in to pry
to draw out by force or with effort uprooted the old bridge's pilings upon the completion of its replacement

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb uproot differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of uproot are eradicate, exterminate, and extirpate. While all these words mean "to effect the destruction or abolition of something," uproot implies a forcible or violent removal and stresses displacement or dislodgment rather than immediate destruction.

the war uprooted thousands

In what contexts can eradicate take the place of uproot?

While in some cases nearly identical to uproot, eradicate implies the driving out or elimination of something that has established itself.

a campaign to eradicate illiteracy

When is it sensible to use exterminate instead of uproot?

The words exterminate and uproot can be used in similar contexts, but exterminate implies complete and immediate extinction by killing off all individuals.

exterminate cockroaches

When would extirpate be a good substitute for uproot?

The synonyms extirpate and uproot are sometimes interchangeable, but extirpate implies extinction of a race, family, species, or sometimes an idea or doctrine by destruction or removal of its means of propagation.

many species have been extirpated from the area

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of uproot Last year, Weiss uprooted from Los Angeles with her wife, New York Times alum Nellie Bowles, and their kids to New York. Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 7 Oct. 2025 This summer, however, Hamilton County's first place spot got uprooted by a Cherrybark Oak in Vanderburgh County. John Tufts, IndyStar, 3 Oct. 2025 As with the enclosures in England and Scotland, villagers were uprooted and dispossessed to make way for sheep and cattle. Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 30 Sep. 2025 One millennial marketing specialist, Lukas Yla, was having difficulty landing a Silicon Valley job after uprooting his life from Lithuania to San Francisco. Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 17 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for uproot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for uproot
Verb
  • And still, Payton pulled a win from where the Denver sun doesn’t shine, throwing everything in his kitchen sink and then some at the Giants in a 33-point fourth quarter.
    Luca Evans, Denver Post, 20 Oct. 2025
  • The Niners on those seven or eight power plays were pulling right guard Dominick Puni.
    Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The batarangs could hit long-range targets, while the bat-claw brought far-away enemies to Batman and could yank obstacles off walls.
    Jordan Moreau, Variety, 14 Oct. 2025
  • Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky has taken the next logical step in making a Black Hawk helicopter autonomous by not only installing the gear needed for self-flying, but by yanking out the entire cockpit and replacing it with cargo doors.
    David Szondy October 13, New Atlas, 13 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Rare earth elements, essential for everything from superconductors to optical fibers, are difficult to extract and even harder to recycle efficiently.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Summarize, translate, and extract answers from long documents in seconds.
    PC Magazine, PC Magazine, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Wentz was once plucked from a cocoon in North Dakota and thrown into the Philadelphia fire.
    Alec Lewis, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Helicopters have been plucking people off rooftops for rescue from flooding and structural damage.
    Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Uproot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/uproot. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on uproot

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