Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

extermine

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: ex-ter-mine
IPA

18

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To exterminate (someone or something); to destroy.

Obsolete; Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"VVherever ſorrovv is, relief vvould be. / If you do ſorrovv at my grief in love, / By giving love your ſorrovv and my grief / VVere both extermined."
"Without the instinct of self-preservation, which causes the sea-anemone to contract its tentacles, or the fish to dash into its hover, species would be extermined wholesale by involuntary suicide."

Etymology

From French exterminer, from Latin extermino.

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: exterminer, extermino

Usage

Inflected Forms

extermines (present, singular) extermining (participle, present) extermined (participle, past) extermined (past)

Questions

What does extermine mean?: To exterminate (someone or something); to destroy.
Where does extermine come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce extermine

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