Meanings
present singular third person extirpates · participle present extirpating · participle past extirpated · past extirpated
- obsoletetransitiveTo clear an area of roots and stumps.
- transitiveTo destroy completely; to annihilate.
The simple object was to expel the natives, and to extirpate the Catholic religion.
1870, M[ary] F[rances] Cusack, chapter XIX, in The Student's Manual of Irish History, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, page 3092 more examples
But you are not Hercules; nor able to extirpate the Evils of others: nor even Theſeus, to extirpate the Evils of Attica. Extirpate your own then.
1758, Epictetus, translated by Elizabeth Carter, All the Works of Epictetus Which are Now Extant; Consisting of His Discourses, Preserved by Arrian, in Four Books, the Enchiridion, and Fragments, The Discourses of Epictetus, book II, chapter XVI, page 172They [steam trains] are everything modern life tries to extirpate in favour of silence, smoothness and cleanness.
2022 February 23, Benedict le Vay, “Part of rail's past... present... and future”, in RAIL, number 951, page 56Synonyms: annihilate, destroy, eradicate, exterminate, destroy, annihilate, aerosolize, atomize
- biologyTo cause a population to go extinct in a particular region, but not across the entire range of the species or subspecies.
The cougar was extirpated across nearly all of its eastern North American range in the two centuries after European colonization.
comparative more extirpate · superlative most extirpate
- obsoleteExtirpated
It is profitable […] to haue all occasions of sedicion […] to be extirpate.
1541, Thomas Elyot, Image of Governance - obsoleteRooted out, extinct, utterly destroyed.
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo pull up by the roots; uproot.
verbTo destroy completely; to annihilate.
verbTo surgically remove.
More synonyms by meaning
verbdestroy completely, as if down to the roots
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinexstirpātus
- Englishextirpate
The verb is first attested in 1538, the adjective in 1541; borrowed from Latin exstirpātus perfect passive participle of exstirpō (“to uproot”), from ex- (“out of”) + stirps (“the lower part of the trunk of a tree, including the roots; the stem, stalk”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)). Doublet of extirp. Common participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian изкореня́вам, унищожа́вам
- изкореня́вам (izkorenjávam)to pull up by the roots
- унищожа́вам (uništožávam)to destroy completely
Catalan extirpar, extirpar
- extirparto pull up by the roots
- extirparto destroy completely
- extirparto surgically remove
Dutch ontwortelen, uitroeien
- ontwortelento pull up by the roots
- uitroeiento destroy completely
Estonian juurima
- juurimato pull up by the roots
Finnish juuria, poistaa
- juuriato pull up by the roots
- poistaato surgically remove
French déraciner, extirper
- déracinerto pull up by the roots
- extirperto pull up by the roots
- extirperto destroy completely
- annihilerto destroy completely
- extirperto surgically remove
German mit den Wurzeln herausreißen, an den Wurzeln herausreißen
- mit den Wurzeln herausreißento pull up by the roots
- an den Wurzeln herausreißento pull up by the roots
- entwurzelnto pull up by the roots
- ausrottento destroy completely
- austilgento destroy completely
- ausmerzento destroy completely
- auslöschento destroy completely
Greek ξεριζώνω, εκριζώνω
- ξεριζώνω (xerizóno)to pull up by the roots
- εκριζώνω (ekrizóno)to surgically remove
Hungarian gyökerestül kiirt, kiirt
- gyökerestül kiirtto pull up by the roots
- kiirtto destroy completely
- gyökerestül kiirtto destroy completely
Irish stoith, baint ó fhréamh
- stoithto pull up by the roots
- baint ó fhréamhto pull up by the roots
- léirscriosto destroy completely
Māori ranga, whakamōtī
- rangato pull up by the roots
- whakamōtīto destroy completely
Norwegian rykke opp med roten
- rykke opp med rotento pull up by the roots
Polish wykorzeniać, wykorzenić
- wykorzeniaćto pull up by the roots
- wykorzenićto pull up by the roots
- wypleniaćto pull up by the roots
- wyplenićto pull up by the roots
- wypleniaćto destroy completely
- wyplenićto destroy completely
- usuwaćto surgically remove
- usunąćto surgically remove
Portuguese extirpar, extirpar
- extirparto pull up by the roots
- extirparto destroy completely
- extirparto surgically remove
Romanian dezrădăcina
- dezrădăcinato pull up by the roots
Russian искореня́ть, искорени́ть
- искореня́ть (iskorenjátʹ)to pull up by the roots
- искорени́ть (iskorenítʹ)to pull up by the roots
- вырыва́ть с ко́рнем (vyryvátʹ s kórnem)to pull up by the roots
- вы́рвать с ко́рнем (výrvatʹ s kórnem)to pull up by the roots
- корчева́ть (korčevátʹ)to pull up by the roots
- выкорчёвывать (vykorčóvyvatʹ)to pull up by the roots
- вы́корчевать (výkorčevatʹ)to pull up by the roots
- искореня́ть (iskorenjátʹ)to destroy completely
- искорени́ть (iskorenítʹ)to destroy completely
- выреза́ть (vyrezátʹ)to surgically remove
- вы́резать (výrezatʹ)to surgically remove
Spanish extirpar, descepar
- extirparto pull up by the roots
- desceparto pull up by the roots
- extirparto destroy completely
- desceparto destroy completely
- extirparto surgically remove
Swedish rycka upp med rötterna
- rycka upp med rötternato pull up by the roots
Vietnamese bứng, nhổ rễ
- bứngto pull up by the roots
- nhổ rễto pull up by the roots
Cite this entry
extirpate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/extirpate
“extirpate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/extirpate. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “extirpate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/extirpate.
Source: extirpate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.