as in destruction
the state or fact of being rendered nonexistent, physically unsound, or useless
the state's population of moose has been replenished, having once been hunted almost to extinction
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of extinction
This ‘living fossil’ is threatened with extinction Guitarfish are among the ocean’s most threatened fish, as demand for their fins fuels a multimillion-dollar trade.
—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
30 June 2026
Wolves were driven to local extinction in California around 1924 but have been slowly returning for the past 15 years.
—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
30 June 2026
Co-founder and tour guide Hannah Michelle Brower says the tour will be a historical journey exploring passenger pigeons and the Lenape people, as well as looking at how the arrival of European colonizers accelerated commercial exploitation and ultimately contributed to the extinction of the bird.
—
Terra Sullivan,
CBS News,
29 June 2026
When print journalism had an extinction-level event early in this century, there was a natural migration away from newspapers to unexplored forms of digital media.
—
Frank Racioppi,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for extinction
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
30 June 2026
Wolves were driven to local extinction in California around 1924 but have been slowly returning for the past 15 years.
—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
30 June 2026
Co-founder and tour guide Hannah Michelle Brower says the tour will be a historical journey exploring passenger pigeons and the Lenape people, as well as looking at how the arrival of European colonizers accelerated commercial exploitation and ultimately contributed to the extinction of the bird.
—
Terra Sullivan,
CBS News,
29 June 2026
When print journalism had an extinction-level event early in this century, there was a natural migration away from newspapers to unexplored forms of digital media.
—
Frank Racioppi,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for extinction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extinction
Noun
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Rodríguez said authorities have recorded 862 aftershocks since the main quakes and confirmed that 189 buildings collapsed completely nationwide, the vast majority in La Guaira, the coastal state that suffered the worst destruction.
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Our previous card featured the fiery destruction of the Missouri Pacific depot in 1909.
Noun
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Following years of economic devastation and underinvestment in public services, the country’s infrastructure – from hospitals to electricity and water – is ill-equipped to deal with a crisis like this.
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And then there's water damage and the devastation caused by flooding.
Noun
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The beloved southern elephant seal, Neil the Seal, is back in Tasmania, causing havoc yet again and garnering fans through his antics.
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Those same issues have ships and planes on high alert in the Middle East, and the ongoing conflict across the region is causing havoc for civilian applications like ride-hailing and food delivery.
Noun
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The congregation started to arrive at the usual time, about half an hour before Mass on a recent Saturday afternoon, the old church slowly filling with the descendants and caretakers of a place of great serenity but also great loss.
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Fireflies are facing growing challenges from habitat loss, pesticide use, climate change and light pollution.
Noun
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The Robeson site developer ultimately began demolition on that site over the winter, so the city did not have to carry out receivership there.
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Project Purple is being built about two years after the demolition of Kingda Ka, the park's iconic launch coaster that stood 456 feet tall before it was removed in early 2025.
Noun
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There, something of a muskrat panic resulted in a war of extermination upon the animals starting in the early 1930s.
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Timothy Wong, technical director of MMPC, a pest management company that provides residential and commercial extermination, prevention, and property protection services, prioritizing environmentally friendly, natural pest control solutions.
Cite this Entry
“Extinction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extinction. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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