extinguishing

Verb

extinguish (third-person singular simple present extinguishes, present participle extinguishing, simple past and past participle extinguished)

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

   Synonyms:

   douse, extinct, smother

2. (figuratively, transitive) To eclipse or obscure (someone or something).
   • A beauty that extinguishes all others by comparison
3. (figuratively, transitive) To kill (someone).

   Synonyms:

   extinct

4. (figuratively, transitive) To put an end to (something) completely; to annihilate, to destroy.
   • She extinguished all my hopes.

   Synonyms:

   extinct, destroy, annihilate, aerosolize, atomize, benothing, bewreck, blot out, blotto, dash

5. (figuratively, transitive) To bring about the extinction of (a conditioned reflex).
   • Many patients can extinguish their phobias after a few months of treatment.

   Synonyms:

   extinct, destroy, annihilate, aerosolize, atomize, benothing, bewreck, blot out, blotto, dash

6. (figuratively, transitive) To suppress (something, as feelings, a person's spirit, a state of affairs, etc.); to quench.

   Synonyms:

   extinct

See all 8 meanings of extinguish