extinction
Americannoun
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extinctions
plural
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the act of extinguishing.
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the fact or condition of being extinguished or extinct.
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suppression; abolition; annihilation.
the extinction of an army.
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Biology. the act or process of becoming extinct; a coming to an end or dying out.
the extinction of a species.
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Psychology. the reduction or loss of a conditioned response as a result of the absence or withdrawal of reinforcement.
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Astronomy. the diminution in the intensity of starlight caused by absorption as it passes through the earth's atmosphere or through interstellar dust.
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Crystallography, Optics. the darkness that results from rotation of a thin section to an angle extinction angle at which plane-polarized light is absorbed by the polarizer.
noun
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the act of making extinct or the state of being extinct
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the act of extinguishing or the state of being extinguished
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complete destruction; annihilation
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physics reduction of the intensity of radiation as a result of absorption or scattering by matter
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astronomy the dimming of light from a celestial body as it passes through an absorbing or scattering medium, such as the earth's atmosphere or interstellar dust
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psychol a process in which the frequency or intensity of a learned response is decreased as a result of reinforcement being withdrawn Compare habituation
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The fact of being extinct or the process of becoming extinct.
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See more at background extinction mass extinction
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A progressive decrease in the strength of a conditioned response, often resulting in its elimination, because of withdrawal of a specific stimulus.
Discover More
The fossil record tells us that 99.9 percent of all species that ever lived are now extinct.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of extinction
1375–1425; late Middle English extinccio ( u ) n < Latin ex ( s ) tinctiōn- (stem of ex ( s ) tinctiō ). See extinct, -ion
Explanation
Extinction is when all members of a particular group die. Most often, we use it to discuss animal species. Many fear that the tiger is headed for extinction because of development and hunting. People are still trying to figure out what caused the extinction of the dinosaurs: many think it was because of an asteroid. When people cut down rain forests, it can lead to the extinction of many species. Although extinction can be natural or unintended, the word can also mean forced, planned killing. Many people refer to the Holocaust as Hitler's attempt to bring about the extinction of the Jews. Languages also face extinction when no one speaks them anymore.
Vocabulary lists containing extinction
South America - Middle School
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South America - Introductory
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Life Science: Genetics and Evolution
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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:
If films are a reflection of the world we live in, Mungiu’s film reflects a reality where objectivity is at risk of extinction.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
The offspring of one of the world's rarest trees has been given a new home in south-west Scotland as conservationists step up efforts to save the species from extinction.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Much is at stake in keeping it going, even if it all pales in comparison to humanity’s potential extinction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
They’re helped out by credulous writers who’ve alluded to vague, anonymized conversations with people in the Bay Area about the same 10 percent probability of imminent extinction for a while now.
From Slate ● Sep. 15, 2026
Were the Australian extinction an isolated event, we could grant humans the benefit of the doubt.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
It leads the world in mammal extinctions, and medals when it comes to the loss of other species classes too.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Kevin said it was much more likely for extinctions to happen in localised areas, something that has already happened.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026
Martindale typically studies ancient coral reefs and mass extinctions.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 3, 2026
In those settings, microbes could rely on sunlight for energy and avoid animals that would otherwise consume them, especially during stressful periods or after mass extinctions.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 3, 2026
"And remember," added Anderson, "this was a relatively minor event. Do you know how many extinctions were associated with the Manson impact?"
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
