mindmap root((消灭)) exterminate implies complete and immediate extinction by killing off: failed attempts to ~ the mosquitoes. extirpate implies extinction of a race, family, species, kind, or sometimes an idea or doctrine by destruction or by removal of its means of propagation: having ~d the last vestiges of the religion. eradicate implies the driving out or elimination of something that has taken root or established itself firmly: polio had virtually been ~d. uproot implies a forcible or violent removal and stresses displacement or dislodgement rather than immediate destruction: the war had ~ed thousands. wipe out can imply extermination or suggest a canceling or obliterating: ~ the entire population.