ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Extinguish

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /ɪkˈstɪŋ.ɡwɪʃ/ · Part of speech verb

Quick meaning: Extinguish is a verb meaning To stop (fire, etc.) from burning; also, to stop (light, etc.) from shining; to put out, to quench.

Meaning

To stop (fire, etc.) from burning; also, to stop (light, etc.) from shining; to put out, to quench.

More Meanings

  1. To eclipse or obscure (someone or something).
  2. To kill (someone).
  3. To put an end to (something) completely; to annihilate, to destroy.
  4. To suppress (something, as feelings, a person's spirit, a state of affairs, etc.); to quench.
  5. To abolish or make void (a law, a legal right, etc.); also, to cancel (a creditor's claim, a licence, etc.).
  6. (intransitive, reflexive) To die out.

Example Sentences

She extinguished all my hopes.
A beauty that extinguishes all others by comparison
They intended to extinguish the enemy by force of numbers
The rays of the sun were extinguished by the thunder clouds.

Word Forms

Synonyms for extinguish

Depending on context, synonyms include douse, extinct, smother, destroy, annihilate, aerosolize.

Antonyms for extinguish

Common opposites include light, ignite.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include wipe out, eradicate, obliterate, annihilate, eliminate, decimate.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.