eradication

American  

[ih-rad-i-key-shuhn] / ɪˌræd ɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

eradications plural

1. 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.

2. 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

• eradications
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

eradication eradications

Iván Duque, who became Colombia's president in 2018, refocused the government's approach on eradication and security strategies.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

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

He referred to a 10-point plan that Caribbean nations have put to European nations, including international debt cancellation, as well as support for healthcare and illiteracy eradication.

From Barron's ● May 28, 2026

Plan Colombia helped the economy and reduced violence overall, but it also displaced large numbers of people, and the drug eradication program was an environmental disaster.

From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2025

One was the fire ant eradication program in the South; the other was the spraying for the Japanese beetle in the Midwest.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

There have been successful local disease eradications, but they often came at a price.

From Nature ● Oct. 14, 2019

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

"It's very addictive, rat eradications, because in so much work we do in conservation it's the same battles year after year or decade after decade," McClelland says.

From Scientific American ● Nov. 8, 2012

Parks Canada's upcoming eradications mark the first time rodenticide will be aerially applied in a forested North American ecosystem.

From Scientific American ● Nov. 8, 2012

History proves that persecution never triumphs in its attempted eradications.

From Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce by Billings, E. R.

Related Words

• destruction
• elimination