EXTERMINATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does extermination mean? 

• EXTERMINATION (noun)
  The noun EXTERMINATION has 2 senses:

1. complete annihilation

2. the act of exterminating

  Familiarity information: EXTERMINATION used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• EXTERMINATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Complete annihilation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

extermination; extinction

Context example:

they think a meteor cause the extinction of the dinosaurs

Hypernyms ("extermination" is a kind of...):

annihilation; disintegration (total destruction)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of exterminating

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

extermination; liquidation

Hypernyms ("extermination" is a kind of...):

destruction; devastation (the termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired or no longer exists)

 Context examples 

He had followed the trail of his fleeing people for eleven days, and his pursuit had been in itself a flight; for behind him he knew full well were the dreaded Russians, toiling through the swampy lowlands and over the steep divides, bent on no less than the extermination of all his people.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)