omnicide

[ om-nuh-sahyd ]

noun

1. the eradication of all life as a result of human activity:

   Nuclear weapons and now climate change confront us with the possibility of omnicide.

Word History and Origins

Origin of omnicide¹

First recorded in 1955–60; omni- ( def ) + -cide ( def )

Example Sentences

In a 1956 book, the German philosopher Günther Anders described humanity as having become “killable,” and in 1959 theater critic Kenneth Tynan coined the word “omnicide” to denote “the murder of everyone.”

From Salon

If humanity was now on suicide watch — or, more accurately, omnicide watch — at least we didn’t have to worry about nature killing us.

From Salon

Ellsberg was deeply determined to do all he could to help prevent omnicide.

From Salon

In a recent series of short illustrated podcasts created by filmmaker Judith Ehrlich — who co-directed the documentary "The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers" — Ellsberg speaks about the growing dangers of global apocalypse, saying that nuclear war planners "have written plans to kill billions of people," preparations that amount to "a conspiracy to commit omnicide, near omnicide, the death of everyone."

From Salon

To Ghosh, the policies of the Dutch East India Company illustrate “the unrestrainable excess that lies hidden at the heart of the vision of world-as-resource—an excess that leads ultimately not just to genocide but an even greater violence, an impulse that can only be called ‘omnicide,’ the desire to destroy everything.”

From Scientific American