extinct

[ik-stingkt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR extinct ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

no longer in existence; that has ended or died out: an extinct species of fish.

no longer in use; obsolete: an extinct custom.

extinguished; quenched; not burning.

having ceased eruption; no longer active: an extinct volcano.

Origin of extinct

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin ex(s)tinctus put out, quenched, past participle of ex(s)tinguere to extinguish

Related formsnon·ex·tinct, adjectiveun·ex·tinct, adjective

Can be confusedextinct rare scarce

Synonyms for extinct

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR extinct ON THESAURUS.COM

1. defunct, gone, vanished. 2. archaic. 3. out.

Synonym study

1. See dead.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for extinct

archaic, asleep, bygone, cold, deceased, defunct, departed, ended, fallen, gone, inactive, late, lifeless, lost, out, outmoded, superseded, unknown, vanished, void

Examples from the Web for extinct

Contemporary Examples of extinct

So while the divas are fewer in number in 2014, they are far from extinct.
Mariah Carey Is the Last of the Traditional Divas
Phoebe Robinson
May 29, 2014
Wild tigers are rare in China, with some varieties now believed to be extinct.
Why Do Chinese Oligarchs Secretly Love Illegal Tiger Meat?
Jake Adelstein
March 31, 2014
If Black rhino were to become another creature on the growing list of extinct species, it would be a loss for us all.
Borana Joins the Fight to Save Kenya’s Rhinos…and Wants You to Help Too
Joanna Eede
February 18, 2014
Bringing Them Back to Life Carl Zimmer, National Geographic The revival of an extinct species is no longer a fantasy.
The Week’s Best Longreads for March 23, 2013
David Sessions
March 23, 2013
And I take liberal Zionism seriously enough to defend it against those who wish to make it extinct.
Why Liberal Zionists Won't Join BDS
Peter Beinart
February 12, 2013

Historical Examples of extinct

An animal (now extinct) which was half horse and half griffin.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce
An extinct pachyderm that flourished when the Pterodactyl was in fashion.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce
Where there is desire, there must be discontent: if we are satisfied with all things, desire is extinct.
Alice, or The Mysteries, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Who could be sure that the old megalosauri, and megalichthys were extinct?
The Cruise of the Dry Dock
T. S. Stribling
He looks exhausted, care-worn, spiritless, (p. 242) extinct.
Diary from November 12, 1862, to October 18, 1863
Adam Gurowski

British Dictionary definitions for extinct

extinct

adjective

(of an animal or plant species) having no living representative; having died out

quenched or extinguished

(of a volcano) no longer liable to erupt; inactive

void or obsoletean extinct political office

Word Origin for extinct

C15: from Latin exstinctus quenched, from exstinguere to extinguish

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for extinct

adj.

early 15c., from Latin extinctus/exstinctus, past participle of extinguere/exstinguere (see extinguish). Originally of fires; the sense of the condition of "dying out" of a family or a hereditary title, 1580s; of species by 1768. Cf. extinction.

extinct in Science

extinct

[ĭk-stĭngkt′]

Having no living members. Species become extinct for many reasons, including climate change, disease, destruction of habitat, local or worldwide natural disasters, and development into new species (speciation). The great majority of species that have ever lived-probably more than 99 percent-are now extinct.

No longer active or burning, as an extinct volcano.