EXTINCTION

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does extinction mean? 

• EXTINCTION (noun)
  The noun EXTINCTION has 6 senses:

1. no longer active; extinguished

2. no longer in existence

3. the reduction of the intensity of radiation as a consequence of absorption and radiation

4. complete annihilation

5. a conditioning process in which the reinforcer is removed and a conditioned response becomes independent of the conditioned stimulus

6. the act of extinguishing; causing to stop burning

  Familiarity information: EXTINCTION used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• EXTINCTION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

No longer active; extinguished

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Context example:

the extinction of the volcano

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

inaction; inactiveness; inactivity (the state of being inactive)

Attribute:

extinct ((of e.g. volcanos) permanently inactive)

Sense 2

Meaning:

No longer in existence

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

defunctness; extinction

Context example:

the extinction of a species

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

death (the absence of life or state of being dead)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The reduction of the intensity of radiation as a consequence of absorption and radiation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

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

action; activity; natural action; natural process (a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings))

Meronyms (parts of "extinction"):

absorption ((physics) the process in which incident radiated energy is retained without reflection or transmission on passing through a medium)

scattering (the physical process in which particles are deflected haphazardly as a result of collisions)

Sense 4

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 ("extinction" is a kind of...):

annihilation; disintegration (total destruction)

Derivation:

extinguish (kill in large numbers)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A conditioning process in which the reinforcer is removed and a conditioned response becomes independent of the conditioned stimulus

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

experimental extinction; extinction

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

conditioning (a learning process in which an organism's behavior becomes dependent on the occurrence of a stimulus in its environment)

Sense 6

Meaning:

The act of extinguishing; causing to stop burning

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

extinction; extinguishing; quenching

Context example:

the extinction of the lights

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

conclusion; ending; termination (the act of ending something)

Derivation:

extinguish (put an end to; kill)

extinguish (put out, as of fires, flames, or lights)

 Context examples 

Marine scientists of FIU are conducting research to assess how climate disturbances and the reduction of shark populations — a quarter of all shark species are threatened with extinction — change the oceans.

(Sharks, the seagrass protectors, National Science Foundation)

New research led by Colby College geologist Robert Gastaldo has revealed the most definitive proof to date that the extinctions did not occur at the same time.

(Mass extinction of land and sea biodiversity 250 million years ago not simultaneous, National Science Foundation)

Only those who had undergone extinction training within the reconsolidation window were largely spared a fear response to the squares.

(How Our Memory Works, NIH, US)

The results show that loss of animal seed-dispersers increases the probability of tree extinction by more than tenfold over a 100-year period.

(Overhunting of large animals has catastrophic effects on trees, NSF)

According to the research team, this may be one reason why dinosaurs did not recover after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event 65 million years ago.

(Slow-cooking dinosaur eggs may have contributed to extinction, Wikinews)

Margaret, what comment can I make on the untimely extinction of this glorious spirit?

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Scientists also predict an alarming scenario with large-scale extinctions in 30 years' time, if no action is taken.

(Species native to Brazil savanna likely to face extinction, Agência Brasil)

Like other ichthyosaurs, this sea monster faded into extinction 95 million years ago, about 30 million years before the dinosaurs disappeared.

(Sea Monster Swam Oceans 170 Million Years Ago, Voanews)

Variation in the degree of acquired resistance might partly explain why fungal pathogens cause extinctions of some animal populations but not others.

(Amphibians can acquire resistance to deadly fungus, NSF)

The drugs have caused sex charges in fish and amphibians and one type of anti-inflammatory drug has driven vultures in India close to extinction.

(Experts Warn Prescription, Over-the-Counter Drugs Polluting World's Rivers, VOA)