extirpate

[ ek-ster-peyt, ik-stur-peyt ]

See synonyms for: extirpate extirpation extirpative on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),ex·tir·pat·ed, ex·tir·pat·ing.

to remove or destroy totally; do away with; exterminate.
to pull up by or as if by the roots; root up: to extirpate an unwanted hair.

Origin of extirpate

First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin ex(s)tirpātus “plucked up by the stem” (past participle of ex(s)tirpāre ), equivalent to ex- ex-¹ + stirp- (stem of stirps ) “stem” + -ātus -ate¹

Other words from extirpate

ex·tir·pa·tion [ek-ster-pey-shuhn], /ˌɛk stərˈpeɪ ʃən/, noun
ex·tir·pa·tive, adjective
ex·tir·pa·tor, noun

Words Nearby extirpate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use extirpate in a sentence

Future nations will know by history only that the loathsome small-pox has existed and by you has been extirpated.
Vaccines Can’t End Pandemics Alone—And We’ve Known That Since We Eradicated Smallpox | Kyle Harper | October 5, 2021 | Time
Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott has revamped the HR operation and strived to open lines of communication, though the climate of paranoia instilled by late network founder Roger Ailes will take years to extirpate.
Speak up, Bret Baier. Speak up, Chris Wallace. | Erik Wemple | January 21, 2021 | Washington Post
He had, moreover, the adroitness to extirpate that rivalry which alone destroys all united effort.
The Philippine Islands | John Foreman
After a reaction Louis renewed his efforts to extirpate the iniquity, and his son Philip continued to inflict severe penalties.
Fighting the Traffic in Young Girls | Various
Many causes have combined to extirpate the shy and spirited fish.
Angling Sketches | Andrew Lang

One of the most pathetic of human fallacies is the assumption that you have only to pass a law in order to extirpate an evil.
Satan's Invisible World Displayed or, Despairing Democracy | W. T. Stead
Grant us to extirpate these impious Mahometans, and to overturn their empire.
The Ruins | C. F. [Constantin Francois de] Volney

British Dictionary definitions for extirpate

extirpate

/ (ˈɛkstəˌpeɪt) /

verb(tr)

to remove or destroy completely
to pull up or out; uproot

to remove (an organ or part) surgically

Origin of extirpate

C16: from Latin exstirpāre to root out, from stirps root, stock

Derived forms of extirpate

extirpation, noun
extirpative, adjective
extirpator, noun

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

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