extinct
Syllables: ex·tinct/ɪkˈstɪŋkt/
extinct adjective: of fire, etc.: no longer alight; of a light, etc.: no longer shining; extinguished, quenched.
Adjective
extinct (not comparable)
- Of fire, etc.: no longer alight; of a light, etc.: no longer shining; extinguished, quenched.
- Edward’s cigarillo was extinct by the time he had finished talking.
- Ah pleaſant proof! / That piety has ſtill in human hearts / Some place, a ſpark or tvvo not yet extinct.1785, William Cowper, “Book VI. The Winter Walk at Noon.”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson; […], →OCLC, page 256
- Of feelings, a person's spirit, a state of affairs, etc.: put out, as if like a fire; quenched, suppressed.
- My breath is corrupt, my dayes are extinct, the graues are ready for me.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Job 17:1, column 2
- I am the Lord, your holy one, the Creatour of Iſrael, your King. […] Which bringeth foorth the charet and horſe, the armie and the power: they ſhall lie downe together, they ſhall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as towe.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 43:15 and 17, column 1
- Of customs, ideas, laws and legal rights, offices, organizations, languages, etc.: no longer existing or in use; defunct, discontinued, obsolete; specifically, of a title of nobility: no longer having any person qualified to hold it.
- Luckily, such ideas about race are extinct in current sociological theory.
- The title became extinct when the last baron died.
- Synonyms:
- anachronistic, antediluvial, antediluvian, antiquated, antique, archaic, backward, backwards, behind the times, cobwebbed
- Of an animal or plant species or group of species, a group of people, a family, etc., having no living members, representatives, or descendants.
- Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years.
- I vvent dovvn aftervvards into Yorkſhire; but my Father vvas dead, and my Mother, and all the Family extinct, except that I found tvvo Siſters, and tvvo of the Children of one of my Brothers; […]1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 331
- Synonyms:
- absent, beingless, inessential, inexistent, nonexistent, null, zilch
- Of a geological feature: no longer active; specifically, of a volcano: no longer erupting.
- Most of the volcanos on this island are now extinct.
- They found the sites of extinct geysers.
- Synonyms:
- asleep, at rest, blessed, cadaverous, clay-cold, deceased, breathless, resting, cold, decomposed
- Antonyms:
- active, dormant, nonextinct, unextinct
- Of a radioisotope: no longer occurring primordially due to having decayed away completely, because it has a relatively short half-life.
- Of a person: dead; also, permanently separated from others.
- [H]e may at lybertie / Paſſe ſaue without hys ieopardy / Tyll that he be from vs extyncte / And clerely out of helles precincte[1545?], John Heywood, The Playe Called The Foure PP […], London: […] Wyllyam Myddylton, →OCLC; reprinted as John S. Farmer, editor, The Play Called The Four PP […] (The Tudor Facsimile Texts)...
Verb
extinct (third-person singular simple present extincts, present participle extincting, simple past extincted, past participle extincted or (obsolete) extinct)
- To stop (fire, etc.) from burning; also, to stop (light, etc.) from shining; to put out, to quench.
- […] Eugenia […] was put in the hot baths, which were extincted, and ſhe preſerued: […] At laſt the ſtorie ſaith, ſhée was with the ſword beheaded.1610 October, John Foxe, “The Eighth Persecution”, in Actes and Monuments of Matters Most Speciall and Memorable, Happening in the Church, with an Vniuersall Historie of the Same. […], 6th edition...
- To kill (someone).
- To put an end to (something) completely; to annihilate, to destroy.
- Graunt that al ſinne & vice here maie bee ſo extinct: that thei neuer haue power to raigne in they ſeruaũtes. Amẽ.1549 March 7, Thomas Cranmer [et al.], compilers, “Of Them that be Baptised in Priuate Houses in Tyme of Necessitie”, in The Booke of the Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacramentes, […]...
- […] Almes doe deliuer from all ſinne and from death;[…]. Not from that (ſaith Cyprian) which the blood of Chriſt hath once extincted, and from which the wholeſome grace of our baptiſme, and of our redeemer hath deliuered vs, but from that death which afterwards creepeth in by ſinne, &c.1610 October, John Foxe, “The Eighth Persecution”, in Actes and Monuments of Matters Most Speciall and Memorable, Happening in the Church, with an Vniuersall Historie of the Same. […], 6th edition...
- To cause (an animal or plant species) to die out completely or become extinct (adjective etymology 1 sense 2.3).
- Paleontologists determine which animal species were extincted, and geomorphologists can find cycles of soil erosion. […] The first settlers were living along the coast of this very large island off Africa [Madagascar], but in about seven hundred years they had spread across the entire island and in...2003, Steven A. LeBlanc, Katherine E. Register, “Was there Ever an Eden?”, in Constant Battles: Why We Fight, 1st St. Martin’s Griffin edition, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, published August...
- Antonyms:
- de-extinct
- To suppress (something, as feelings, a person's spirit, a state of affairs, etc.); to quench.
- It is more hard, loue to our ſelues to extinkt, / Then hate to other, to plucke from tharts preſinkt, / Thus, of iuſtice no let ledeth intrupcion, / Like this loue (name ſelfe loue) growne of corrupcion.1556, John Heywood, chapter 7, in The Spider and the Flie. […], London: […] Tho[mas] Powell, →OCLC; republished as A[dolphus] W[illiam] Ward, editor, The Spider and the Flie. […] (Publications of the...
- Great Ioue, Othello guard, / And ſvvell his Saile vvith thine ovvne povvrefull breath, / That he may bleſſe this Bay vvith his tall Ship, / Make loues quicke pants in Deſdemonaes Armes, / Giue renevv'd fire to our extincted Spirits.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
- To abolish or make void (a law, a legal right, etc.); also, to cancel (a creditor's claim, a license, etc.).
- So if I have a rent charge, and grant it upon condition; now, though the condition be broken, the grantee's estate is not defeated till I have made my claim: but if after any such grant my father purchase the land, and it descend to me; now, if the condition be broken, the rent ceaseth without...c. 1596 (date written), Francis Bacon, “Maxims of the Law. Regula IX. Quod remedio destituitur ipsa re valet, si culpa absit.”, in James Spedding, Robert Leslie Ellis, and Douglas Denon Heath...
- And foraſmuch as the ſaid Statute vvas ordained to give a Certainty of Title in the Lands and Tenements compriſed in the Fine, it ſeemeth that the Fine extincteth the Title of all other, as vvell in Conſcience, as it doth in the Lavv.1746, Christopher St. Germain, “The Fifth Question of the Student”, in Doctor and Student: Or Dialogues between a Doctor of Divinity, and a Student in the Laws of England, […], In the Savoy [London]...
Noun
extinct (uncountable)
- Synonym of extinction (“the action of becoming or making extinct; annihilation”).
- [W]ho is he […] as vvould not euen in the glas of Lucreſias perſeuerãce (euẽ to the vttermoſt extinct of life) ſe the vvõder of bevvty, matched vvith the indiuiduat adiũt vnſoyled conſtancy.1606, I. F. [i.e., John Ford], “To the Right Honorable the Earle of Pembroke. Third Position. Faire Ladie was Neuer False.”, in Honor Triumphant. Or The Peeres Challenge, by Armes Defensible, at...
- [W]ee have cauſe to feare the loſſe of our Kingdome, and you the extinct of the Engliſh nations renovvne; […]1611, Iohn Speed [i.e., John Speed], “Ethelred Commonly Called the Unreadie, […]”, in The History of Great Britaine under the Conquests of yͤ Romans, Saxons, Danes and Normans. […], London: […]...
- Synonyms:
- extinction
extinct meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
extinct in Hindi
- of an animal or plant species, a class of people, a family, etc.: having died out completely; no longer in existence
- विलुप्त vilupt
extinct in Tamil
- தொடர்பற்றுப்போன, மரபற்றழிந்த, வழக்காறொழிந்த, அழிந்த, ஒழிந்த, மறைந்தவை
extinct in Urdu
- extinct
- ابھاو abhāv, منقطع munqati'
extinct in Bengali
- of an animal or plant species, a class of people, a family, etc.: having died out completely; no longer in existence
- নাস্তানাবুদ nastanabud
More languagesFewer languages
- extinct in Telugu
- అంతరించిపోయినది, అంతరించిపోతున్నాయి, అంతరించిపోతున్న
- extinct in Malayalam
- അന്യം നിന്നു പോയത്
- extinct in Kannada
- ಸತ್ತುಹೋದ, ಚುರುಕು ಕಳೆದ, ಇರವಳಿದ
- extinct in Gujarati
- લુપ્ત lupt
- extinct in Odia
- ବିଲୁପ୍ତ, ବିଲୁପ୍ତପ୍ରାଯ଼
- extinct in Arabic
- مُنْقَرِض munqariḍ
- extinct in Malay
- pupus, mati
- extinct in Indonesian
- mati, padam, punah
- extinct in Persian
- منقرض monqarez
- extinct in Thai
- สูญพันธุ์ sǔun-pan
Examples of extinct in a sentence
- Most of the lamps were extinct, but they glittered golden in the morning light, and in some few a pale white flame yet struggled with day.1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXVII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry...
- Conversation seemed nearly extinct, and yet neither offered to turn back.1827, [Benjamin Disraeli], chapter XII, in Vivian Grey, volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, book V, page 236:
- I knew at Paris a criminal condemned to die by the halter, […] He was cut down, and given to his friends before life was extinct, and I had the good fortune to recover him.1828 May 15, [Walter Scott], chapter I, in Chronicles of the Canongate. Second Series. […] (The Fair Maid of Perth), volume III, Edinburgh...
- Class A5 4-6-2T, of which No. 69820 was one, is now extinct.1961 January, Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, photograph caption, page 59:
Synonyms of extinct
- anachronistic
- antediluvian
- antiquated
- antique
- archaic
- backward
- backwards
- behind the times
- cobwebbed
- cobwebby
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
10 more antonymsFewer antonyms
Forms of extinct
| third-person singular present | extincts |
|---|---|
| present participle | extincting |
| past | extincted |
| past participle | extincted |
| past participle (obsolete) | extinct |
Origin of extinct
From Late Middle English extinct (“eliminated, eradicated, extinguished”), from Latin extīnctus, exstīnctus (“extinguished, quenched; destroyed, killed; made extinct”), the perfect passive participles of extinguō, exstinguō (“to extinguish, put out, quench; (figurative) to abolish; to destroy, kill”), from ex- (prefix meaning ‘away; out’) + stinguō (“to extinguish, put out, quench”) (from Proto-Indo-European *stengʷ- (“to push”)). The Middle English word displaced Middle English aqueint, aquenched (“extinct; extinguished”). Doublet of extinguish.
From Middle English extincten (“to extinguish or put out (a fire, light, etc.); to destroy, kill; (figurative) to suppress (an uprising); (law) to quash or stop (legal proceedings); to cancel (a privilege, title, etc.); (medicine) to eliminate or reduce (inflammation, an ulcer, etc.)”), from extinct (adjective) (see etymology 1) + -en (suffix forming the infinitive of verbs).
Either: * from Latin extīnctus, exstīnctus, a noun use of the perfect passive participle of extinguō, exstinguō (see etymology 1); or * from the verb (see etymology 2).
Words formed from extinct
Phrases with extinct
Words that rhyme with extinct
Questions about extinct
- What does extinct mean?
- Extinct means of fire, etc.: no longer alight; of a light, etc.: no longer shining; extinguished, quenched.
- What is extinct in Hindi?
- Extinct in Hindi is विलुप्त (vilupt). See Extinct meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use extinct in a sentence?
- Most of the lamps were extinct, but they glittered golden in the morning light, and in some few a pale white flame yet struggled with day.
- What part of speech is extinct?
- Extinct can be an adjective, a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce extinct?
- Extinct is pronounced /ɪkˈstɪŋkt/ (UK).
Words near extinct in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: extinct (page history and authors); extinct (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ابھاو (Urdu) (page history and authors); extinct (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); extinct (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); extinct (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); લુપ્ત (Gujarati) (page history and authors); extinct (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “extinct.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/extinct. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.