extermination

1 complete annihilation; "they think a meteor cause the extinction of the dinosaurs" [syn: extinction]

2 the act of exterminating [syn: liquidation]

English

Etymology

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪʃǝn

Noun

1. The act of exterminating; total destruction; eradication; excision; as, the extermination of inhabitants or tribes, of error or vice, or of weeds from a field.
2. Elimination.

Extermination is the act of killing or murdering with the intention of eradicating demographics within a population.

• When applied to humans, the term genocide is more often used. However, extermination is categorized in international criminal law as a crime against humanity that is a crime distinct from genocide.

• Extermination of insects or vermin relates to the field of pest control. The term is not preferred by pest control practitioners.

• In the popular British television show Doctor Who "Exterminate!" (usually pronounced "EX-TER-MIN-ATE, with each syllable heavily emphasised), is the battle cry of the Daleks. It is also the Daleks' intention to exterminate every other form of life in the universe.

• Extermination (video game) is a Playstation 2 game made by Sony Computer Entertainment.

• "Exterminate! (song), a song by Snap!.

abolishment, abolition, annihilation, annulment, bane, blood, bloodletting, bloodshed, braining, choking, choking off, dealing death, deracination, destruction, destruction of life, dispatch, elimination, eradication, euthanasia, execution, extinction, extinguishment, extirpation, flow of blood, gore, immolation, kill, killing, lapidation, liquidation, martyrdom, martyrization, mercy killing, negation, nullification, poisoning, purge, ritual killing, ritual murder, rooting out, sacrifice, shooting, silencing, slaughter, slaying, snuffing out, stifling, stoning, strangulation, suffocation, suppression, taking of life, uprooting, voiding