Wiktionary

extinguish

EnglishEdit

EtymologyEdit

Borrowed from Latin extinguo (“to put out (what is burning), quench, extinguish, deprive of life, destroy, abolish”), from ex (“out”) + stinguere (“to put out, quench, extinguish”).

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /ɪkˈstɪŋ.ɡwɪʃ/
  • Audio (US)(file)

VerbEdit

extinguish (third-person singular simple present extinguishes, present participle extinguishing, simple past and past participle extinguished)

  1. (transitive) To put out, as in fire; to end burning; to quench.
  2. (transitive) To destroy or abolish something.
    She extinguished all my hopes.
    They intended to extinguish the enemy by force of numbers
    • 1668 December 19, James Dalrymple, “Mr. Alexander Seaton contra Menzies” in The Deciſions of the Lords of Council & Seſſion I (Edinburgh, 1683), page 575
      The Pupil after his Pupillarity, had granted a Diſcharge to one of the Co-tutors, which did extinguiſh the whole Debt of that Co-tutor, and conſequently of all the reſt, they being all correi debendi, lyable by one individual Obligation, which cannot be Diſcharged as to one, and ſtand as to all the reſt.
  3. (transitive) To obscure or eclipse something.
    The rays of the sun were extinguished by the thunder clouds.
    A beauty that extinguishes all others by comparison
  4. (transitive, psychology) To bring about the extinction of a conditioned reflex.
    Many patients can extinguish their phobias after a few months of treatment.
  5. (transitive, literally) To hunt down (a species) to extinction.
  6. (intransitive) To die out.
  7. (transitive) To kill.

SynonymsEdit

Derived termsEdit

Related termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Further readingEdit

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