extirpate

[ ek-ster-peyt, ik-stur-peyt ]

verb (used with object)

, ex·tir·pat·ed, ex·tir·pat·ing.

1. to remove or destroy totally; do away with; exterminate.
2. to pull up by or as if by the roots; root up:

   to extirpate an unwanted hair.

extirpate

/ ˈɛkstəˌpeɪt /

verb

1. to remove or destroy completely
2. to pull up or out; uproot
3. to remove (an organ or part) surgically

Derived Forms

• ˌextirˈpation, noun
• ˈextirˌpator, noun
• ˈextirˌpative, adjective

Other Words From

• ex·tir·pa·tion [ek-ster-, pey, -sh, uh, n], noun
• ex·tir·pa·tive adjective
• ex·tir·pa·tor noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of extirpate¹

First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin ex(s)tirpātus “plucked up by the stem” (past participle of ex(s)tirpāre ), equivalent to ex- ex- ¹ + stirp- (stem of stirps ) “stem” + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of extirpate¹

C16: from Latin exstirpāre to root out, from stirps root, stock

Example Sentences

Like Reagan, he is averse to compromise; determined to extirpate what he depicted as liberalism at the public New College of Florida, DeSantis installed a clutch of right-wingers on its board.

From Los Angeles Times

“The enormous increase in productive power which has marked the present century,” the social reformer Henry George complained in his 1879 bestseller, “Progress and Poverty,” “has no tendency to extirpate poverty.”

From Washington Post

"Feral American mink pose a particular risk to island biodiversity, especially to ground-nesting birds and small mammals which in certain circumstances they may have the potential to extirpate," Keen explained.

From Salon

After the Spanish arrived in the 1500s, the conquerors set out to extirpate Maya knowledge and culture.

From Science Magazine

In the final analysis, he could have done a better job to extirpate the vehement and notorious antisemitism that existed in the old guard.

From Salon