exterminate
verb (used with object)
to get rid of by destroying; destroy totally; extirpate.
was exterminating
-
past progressiveof exterminate.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
“Why did he do that? Because the culture was exterminating too. He just went along with what the outer world was telling him.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2023
The Parliament of Paris,—a court of justice,—filled with the idea that law is not a means, but an end, tried to interpose forms between the Master of France and the vermin he was exterminating.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 09, No. 55, May, 1862 by Various
The English had gone, but France was exterminating herself.
From Castles and Cave Dwellings of Europe by S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould
The Parliament of Paris—a court of justice—filled with the idea that law is not a means, but an end, tried to interpose forms between the master of France and the vermin he was exterminating.
From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 11 by Rossiter Johnson
While the Inquisition was exterminating heresy and purifying the faith, Galileo was inventing the telescope.
From Flowers of Freethought (First Series) by G. W. (George William) Foote
