extirpate
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extirpate
- /ˈɛkstəpeɪt/ UK
- /ˈɛkstɚpeɪt/ US
Where it comes from
The verb is first attested in 1538, the adjective in 1541; borrowed from Latin exstirpātus perfect passive participle of exstirpō (“to uproot”), from ex- (“out of”) + stirps (“the lower part of the trunk of a tree, including the roots; the stem, stalk”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)). Doublet of extirp. Common participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.
verb extirpates · extirpating · extirpated
- To clear an area of roots and stumps.
-
To pull up by the roots; uproot.
Similar: uproot, eradicate, extricate, deracinate
-
To destroy completely; to annihilate.
But you are not Hercules; nor able to extirpate the Evils of others: nor even Theſeus, to extirpate the Evils of Attica. Extirpate your own then.
Similar: annihilate, destroy, eradicate, exterminate, aerosolize, atomize, benothing, bewreck, blot out, blotto, dash, decompose
- To cause a population to go extinct in a particular region, but not across the entire range of the species or subspecies. The cougar was extirpated across nearly all of its eastern North American range in the two centuries after European colonization.
-
To surgically remove.
Similar: excise
adjective more extirpate · most extirpate
- Extirpated It is profitable […] to haue all occasions of sedicion […] to be extirpate.
- Rooted out, extinct, utterly destroyed.
Translations
Every language
verb to pull up by the roots
| Español | extirpar, descepar |
|---|---|
| Português | extirpar |
| Français | déraciner, extirper |
| Deutsch | mit den Wurzeln herausreißen, an den Wurzeln herausreißen, entwurzeln |
| Ελληνικά | ξεριζώνω xerizóno |
| Română | dezrădăcina |
| Русский | искореня́ть iskorenjátʹ, искорени́ть iskorenítʹ, вырыва́ть с ко́рнем vyryvátʹ s kórnem, вы́рвать с ко́рнем výrvatʹ s kórnem, корчева́ть korčevátʹ, выкорчёвывать vykorčóvyvatʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | bứng, nhổ rễ |
verb to destroy completely
| Español | extirpar, descepar |
|---|---|
| Português | extirpar |
| Français | extirper, annihiler |
| Deutsch | ausrotten, austilgen, ausmerzen, auslöschen |
| Русский | искореня́ть iskorenjátʹ, искорени́ть iskorenítʹ |
Talk about this word "extirpate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/extirpate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. extirpate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/extirpate "extirpate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/extirpate.Cite this
@misc{extirpate_2026,
title = {extirpate},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/extirpate},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
