extinguish
Americanverb (used with object)
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extinguishes,
present (3rd person singular)
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extinguished,
past participle, past
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extinguishing
present participle
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to put out (a fire, light, etc.); put out the flame of (something burning or lighted).
to extinguish a candle.
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to put an end to or bring to an end; wipe out of existence; annihilate.
to extinguish hope.
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to obscure or eclipse, as by superior brilliance.
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Law. to discharge (a debt), as by payment.
verb
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to put out or quench (a light, flames, etc)
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to remove or destroy entirely; annihilate
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archaic to eclipse or obscure by or as if by superior brilliance
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law to discharge (a debt)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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extinguishernoun
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extinguishmentnoun
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preextinguishmentnoun
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preextinguishverb (used with object)
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extinguishableadjective
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nonextinguishableadjective
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nonextinguishedadjective
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self-extinguishingadjective
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unextinguishableadjective
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unextinguishedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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extinguishsimple
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extinguishessimple
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have extinguishedperfect
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has extinguishedperfect
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am extinguishingprogressive
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are extinguishingprogressive
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is extinguishingprogressive
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have been extinguishingperfect progressive
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has been extinguishingperfect progressive
Past
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extinguishedsimple
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had extinguishedperfect
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was extinguishingprogressive
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were extinguishingprogressive
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had been extinguishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of extinguish
1535–45; < Latin ex ( s ) tingu ( ere ) ( ex- ex- 1 + stinguere to quench) + -ish 2
Explanation
To extinguish something means to put an end to it, and get rid of it completely. Water can extinguish a fire; nasty smells can extinguish your appetite. Extinguish comes from the Latin word for quench, but while we might think that quenching something, say our thirst, is good, the word extinguish often has sinister overtones. In a genocide, one group tries to extinguish another — too quench their hatred, by killing everyone in the other group.
Vocabulary lists containing extinguish
A Wrinkle in Time
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100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
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The Great Fire
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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:
“He used a fire extinguisher in an attempt to extinguish the fire and observed additional fires spotting in close proximity,” the report states.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
"Everything is being done to extinguish the fires, reduce the impact of the smoke, and, most importantly, protect the public from the threat of forest and land fires."
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
A mathematical model possesses neither intent, malice nor the will to defy its creators, let alone extinguish our species.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
"We're still short of hoses, which makes it hard for us to extinguish this fire."
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
It took the fire department an hour to extinguish the flames.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
When they die, the step-up in basis extinguishes the prior capital gains liability forever, leaving only a tax on any gains for the heirs reaped starting from the date of their inheritance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2024
Navy in the 1960s, the foams form an aqueous film around burning gasoline and other flammable liquids, which quickly deprives the fire of oxygen and extinguishes it.
From Science Daily ● May 9, 2024
“The Sackler release extinguishes the claims of all opioid claimants except the United States, and therefore applies to an untold number of claimants who did not specifically consent to the release’s terms,” Ms. Prelogar wrote.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 29, 2023
That extinguishes sunlight from reaching a narrow corridor of Earth, transforming day to night.
From Washington Post ● May 11, 2022
Cressida’s voice snaps me back to reality, extinguishes me.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Once the fire was extinguished, Lineage was tasked with removing the 89 million pounds of meat and food stored inside as fast as possible before it spoiled in the scorching summer heat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
A wildfire that scorched 42,000 hectares in southwest France has finally been declared extinguished, two months after the country's largest blaze since 1949 broke out, authorities said Monday.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
He ended that speech saying that Diana would “never be extinguished from our minds,” a line he now says he included as a retort to Charles’s call saying that she would be forgotten.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
The fires have since been extinguished and the road has reopened.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
With that, the Ocean Being extended his arm and let fall fat drops of water onto the fireplace and the fire was extinguished.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
Firefighters were also seen extinguishing a fire in the tower.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
“Basically we’re just out there extinguishing hot spots, making sure that the fire is secure before we’re able to call it 100% and walk away from it,” Cal Fire spokesperson Alison Wilkins said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2026
Its title suggests the regime is moving toward national reconciliation by extinguishing the spurious records it created of crimes it claims its opponents committed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 1, 2026
Bitcoin dropped back below a key level early Monday, extinguishing hopes that last week’s mini-rebound would become a full-fledged comeback.
From Barron's ● Dec. 1, 2025
It is a curious feature of our existence that we come from a planet that is very good at promoting life but even better at extinguishing it.
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.
