ex
ter
mi
nate
Third Person
exterminates
Present Participle
exterminating
Past Tense
exterminated
Past Participle
exterminated
1
to destroy completely
transitive
- The ruthless dictator sought to exterminate any opposition to his regime.
- The fire exterminated the forest, leaving behind nothing but ash.
- The invaders sought to exterminate the native culture and impose their own.
- A new initiative aims to exterminate extreme poverty in the region.
- The ancient city was exterminated by a volcanic eruption, leaving it buried for centuries.
2
to kill pests, such as insects or rodents
transitive
- The farmer used traps to exterminate the rats in the barn.
- An exterminator was hired to exterminate the termites eating through the wooden beams.
- The gardener applied natural methods to exterminate the aphids on the plants.
- To protect the crops, they used pesticides to exterminate the locusts.
- The invasive ant colony was exterminated using bait traps placed strategically.
Synonyms: