extirpation
Rooting out completely
Extirpation is complete destruction or removal—wiping something out entirely.
The word applies to eliminating populations, practices, or ideas: the extirpation of indigenous languages, the extirpation of wolves from the region.
In ecology, extirpation specifically means local extinction—a species eliminated from one area but surviving elsewhere.
The verb is extirpate.
Utter, complete destruction
- obliterationTotal destruction or erasure
- eliminationAct of removing entirely
- uprootingExtracting from the earth
- expungingRemoving completely from existence
purging · abolition · wiping out · rooting out · sweeping away · liquidation · effacement · erasure
Cutting out of tissue
- extractionAct of removing
- resectionSurgical tissue removal
- ablationRemoval by cutting, melting
- enucleationComplete surgical excision
removal · amputation · mastectomy · lumpectomy · colectomy · gastrectomy · cystectomy · debridement
Disappearance of organism types
- disappearanceAct of going missing
- vanishingCeasing to be visible
- dying outBecoming extinct gradually
- decimationNear-total destruction
depletion · dwindling · population collapse · biodiversity loss · habitat destruction · overhunting · overfishing · invasive species
annihilation
Utter, complete destruction
- obliterationTotal destruction or erasure
- eliminationAct of removing entirely
- uprootingExtracting from the earth
expunging · purging · abolition · wiping out · rooting out · sweeping away · liquidation · effacement · erasure · expunction
excision
Cutting out of tissue
- extractionAct of removing
- resectionSurgical tissue removal
- ablationRemoval by cutting, melting
enucleation · removal · amputation · mastectomy · lumpectomy · colectomy · gastrectomy · cystectomy · debridement · curettage
species loss
Disappearance of organism types
- disappearanceAct of going missing
- vanishingCeasing to be visible
- dying outBecoming extinct gradually
decimation · depletion · dwindling · population collapse · biodiversity loss · habitat destruction · overhunting · overfishing · invasive species · conservation
- depopulationpopulation loss, emptying, hollowing out, rural exodus, mass exodus
- conservationconservation, wildlife, endangered, habitat, sanctuary
- dissolutionbreakup, breakdown, liquidation, wind down, disintegration
- species rangerange, species range, home range, endemic, native
- biogeographybioregion, species range, endemism, dispersal, native range
extirpationcreation
Making something exist
establishment · origination · genesis · preservation · conservation
extirpationpruning
Cutting vegetation for health
trimming · thinning · culling · diminishment · curtailment
extirpationinsertion
Placing something within
implantation · introduction · reintroduction · planting · transplantation
eradicate, exterminate, extermination, eradication, exterminator, extirpate, exterminators, eradicator, extirpated