eradicate

American

[ih-rad-i-keyt] / ɪˈræd ɪˌkeɪt /

verb (used with object)

eradicated, eradicating

to remove or destroy utterly; extirpate.

to eradicate smallpox throughout the world.

Synonyms:

annihilate, exterminate, uproot, obliterate
to erase by rubbing or by means of a chemical solvent.

to eradicate a spot.
to pull up by the roots.

to eradicate weeds.

eradicate British

/ ɪˈrædɪˌkeɪt /

verb

to obliterate; stamp out
to pull or tear up by the roots

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See abolish.

Other Word Forms

eradicable adjective
eradicably adverb
eradicant adjective
eradication noun
eradicative adjective
eradicator noun
noneradicative adjective
uneradicated adjective
uneradicative adjective

Etymology

Origin of eradicate

First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin ērādīcātus “rooted out” (past participle of ērādīcāre ), equivalent to ē- e- ¹ + rādīc- (stem of rādīx ) root ¹ + -ātus -ate ¹

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023