eradication
Americannoun
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eradications
plural
-
the complete removal, destruction, or erasure of something.
While I don't expect the eradication of poverty, I think that these social programs will have some positive impact.
Permanent eradication of an invasive species is time-consuming and often expensive.
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the act or process of pulling or digging up a plant by the roots.
Two other cocaine-producing nations have avoided use of chemical herbicides on coca crops, preferring manual eradication instead.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of eradication
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin ērādīcātiōn-, stem of ērādīcātiō, from ērādīcāre “to root out”; see eradicate ( def. )
Explanation
When people talk about the eradication of something, they are referring to its total destruction. Imagine a movie villain destroying a planet with a massive laser beam and you'll have the right idea. If a gardener's goal is the eradication of every single weed in his back yard, he might start by uprooting dandelions. Fittingly, the root of eradication is the Latin word for "uproot," ērādīcāre. The eradication of anything, whether it's disease, poverty, war, or weeds, involves removing every last trace of it, right down to the roots.
Vocabulary lists containing eradication
President Obama's Speech on the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington
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"Ideas Live On" by Benazir Bhutto (2007)
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Resuming his polio project after the war, he concluded by the early 1950s that eradication would only be achieved if transmission could be prevented through halting viral replication in the gastrointestinal tract.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
"The next phase of the country's development will be the eradication of extreme poverty. That is one of his priorities," said one of Wadagni's close associates.
From Barron's ● Apr. 12, 2026
Calling the eradication of extortion “one of the great challenges” facing Mexico, Sheinbaum pledged to bolster enforcement, stiffen penalties and increase safeguards for anyone receiving threats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2025
Muir added: "The most important thing going forward here is we focus on the eradication of this."
From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2025
Foege was one of the people responsible for the eradication of smallpox in the world and was known to favor unconventional solutions to supposedly impossible problems.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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There have been successful local disease eradications, but they often came at a price.
From Nature ● Oct. 14, 2019
If eradications in general are hard, eradications on inhabited islands are really hard.
From Scientific American ● Nov. 1, 2017
Campbell has been working on eradications in the Galápagos since 1997, including a 2006 campaign to remove all the feral goats and donkeys from Floreana.
From Scientific American ● Nov. 1, 2017
And whereas most rat eradications so far have targeted remote, uninhabited islands, the Galapagos is home to some 30,000 people and receives around 180,000 visitors each year.
From Nature ● May 15, 2013
History proves that persecution never triumphs in its attempted eradications.
From Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce by E. R. Billings
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.