exterminate

/ɪkˈstɜːmɪneɪt/ (bre, ipa) · /ɪkˈstɜːrmɪneɪt/ (ame, ipa) · /ik-ˈstər-mə-ˌnāt/ (ame, mw)

exterminate — verb

  • exterminatepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • exterminateshe / she / it
  • exterminatedpast simple
  • exterminating-ing form

1. to kill every member of a human or animal population, leaving no survivors

1.動詞及物C1
釋義

to kill every member of a human or animal population, leaving no survivors

例句

The soldiers were ordered to exterminate the last rebel groups in the valley.

exterminate + enemy group in armed conflict

Farmers paid a pest team to exterminate the rats under the grain store.

同義詞
  • eradicate

    often stresses removing something harmful at the root and can apply to diseases or weeds as well as living groups

  • wipe out

    less formal and common for a group, species, or community disappearing completely

  • massacre

    focuses on brutal killing in one event, but not always on leaving no survivors

反義詞
  • protect

    means keeping people or animals safe from being killed or destroyed

  • preserve

    focuses on keeping a species or population alive and continuing

文法句型

exterminate + population/species/pests/enemy group

用法筆記

Object is usually a whole population, species, or group rather than one individual. Common in military, historical, and pest-control contexts, and it suggests deliberate total killing, not just reducing numbers.

常見錯誤

❌I exterminated the mosquito on my arm.
✅I killed the mosquito on my arm.
💡'exterminate' is for wiping out a whole group or population, not one insect.