Adjacent Words

Extinguish definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

EXTIN'GUISH, v.t. [L. extinguo; ex and stingo, stinguo, or the latter may be a contraction; Gr. to prick, that is, to thrust; or more directly from tingo, to dip, to stain; both probably allied to tango, for tago, to touch.
1. To put out; to quench; to suffocate; to destroy; as, to extinguish fire or flame.
2. To destroy; to put an end to; as, to extinguish love or hatred in the breast; to extinguish desire or hope; to extinguish a claim or title.
3. To cloud or obscure by superior splendor.
4. To put an end to, by union or consolidation. [See Extinguishment.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: put an end to; kill; "The Nazis snuffed out the life of many Jewish children" [syn: snuff out, extinguish]
2: put out, as of fires, flames, or lights; "Too big to be extinguished at once, the forest fires at best could be contained"; "quench the flames"; "snuff out the candles" [syn: snuff out, blow out, extinguish, quench] [ant: ignite, light]
3: extinguish by crushing; "stub out your cigar" [syn: stub out, crush out, extinguish, press out]
4: terminate, end, or take out; "Let's eliminate the course on Akkadian hieroglyphics"; "Socialism extinguished these archaic customs"; "eliminate my debts" [syn: extinguish, eliminate, get rid of, do away with]
5: kill in large numbers; "the plague wiped out an entire population" [syn: eliminate, annihilate, extinguish, eradicate, wipe out, decimate, carry off]

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb Etymology: Latin exstinguere (from ex- + stinguere to extinguish) + English -ish (as in abolish); akin to Latin instigare to incite — more at stick Date: circa 1540 1. a. (1) to bring to an end ; make an end of <hope for their safety was slowly extinguished> (2) to reduce to silence or ineffectiveness b. to cause to cease burning ; quench c. to cause extinction of (a conditioned response) d. to dim the brightness of ; eclipse 2. a. to cause to be void ; nullify <extinguish a claim> b. to get rid of usually by payment <extinguish a debt> • extinguishable adjective • extinguisher noun • extinguishment noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 cause (a flame, light, etc.) to die out; put out. 2 make extinct; annihilate, destroy (a programme to extinguish disease). 3 put an end to; terminate; obscure utterly (a feeling, quality, etc.). 4 a abolish; wipe out (a debt). b Law render void. 5 colloq. reduce to silence (the argument extinguished the opposition). Derivatives: extinguishable adj. extinguishment n. Etymology: irreg. f. L extinguere (as EXTINCT): cf. distinguish

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Extinguish Ex*tin"guish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Extinguished; p pr. & vb. n. Extinguishing.] [L. extinguere, exstinguere; ex out + stinguere to quench. See Distinguish, Finish.] 1. To quench; to put out, as a light or fire; to stifle; to cause to die out; to put an end to; to destroy; as, to extinguish a flame, or life, or love, or hope, a pretense or a right. A light which the fierce winds have no power to extinguish. --Prescott. This extinguishes my right to the reversion. --Blackstone. 2. To obscure; to eclipse, as by superior splendor. Natural graces that extinguish art. --Shak .

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(extinguishes, extinguishing, extinguished) 1. If you extinguish a fire or a light, you stop it burning or shining. (FORMAL) It took about 50 minutes to extinguish the fire... = put out VERB: V n 2. If something extinguishes a feeling or idea, it destroys it. The message extinguished her hopes of Richard's return. VERB: V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Quench, put out. 2. Destroy, suppress, put down.

Moby Thesaurus

KO, abate, abolish, abscind, adumbrate, amputate, annihilate, asphyxiate, ban, banish, bar, blot out, blow out, bob, bottle up, call off, cancel, censor, choke, choke off, clamp down on, clip, complete, cork, cork up, crack down on, crop, crush, cull, cut, cut away, cut off, cut out, damp, damp down, delete, destroy, dim, dispose of, do away with, dock, douse, drop the curtain, drown, eclipse, eliminate, end off, enucleate, eradicate, except, excise, exclude, expunge, exterminate, extirpate, fake out, finalize, finish, fold up, gag, get it over, get over with, get through with, give the quietus, hold down, isolate, jump on, kayo, keep down, keep under, kibosh, kill, knock off, knock out, lop, mutilate, muzzle, nip, nullify, obliterate, obscure, out, outdo, overshadow, pare, peel, perfect, pick out, polish off, pour water on, prune, put down, put out, put paid to, put to shame, quash, quell, quench, remove, repress, root out, rule out, scrag, set apart, set aside, shave, shear, shoot down, show up, shut down on, silence, sit down on, sit on, slack, smash, smother, snuff, snuff out, squash, squelch, stamp out, stanch, stifle, strangle, strike off, strip, strip off, stultify, subdue, suffocate, suppress, take off, take out, throttle, trample out, trample underfoot, truncate, turn off, turn out, uproot, wipe, wipe out, zap