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Webster 1913 Edition
Extinction
Ex-tinc′tion
,Noun.
[L.
extinctio
, exstinction
: cf. F. extinction
.] 1.
The act of extinguishing or making extinct; a putting an end to; the act of putting out or destroying light, fire, life, activity, influence, etc.
2.
State of being extinguished or of ceasing to be; destruction; suppression;
as, the
. extinction
of life, of a family, of a quarrel, of claimWebster 1828 Edition
Extinction
EXTINC'TION
,Noun.
1.
The act of putting out or destroying light or fire, by quenching, suffocation or otherwise.2.
The state of being extinguished, quenched or suffocated; as the extinction of fire or of a candle.3.
Destruction; excision; as the extinction of nations.4.
Destruction; suppression; a putting an end to; as the extinction of life, or of a family; the extinction of feuds, jealousies or enmity; the extinction of a claim.Definition 2024
extinction
extinction
English
Noun
extinction (countable and uncountable, plural extinctions)
- The action of making or becoming extinct; annihilation.
- 2012 January 1, Donald Worster, “A Drier and Hotter Future”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 70:
- Phoenix and Lubbock are both caught in severe drought, and it is going to get much worse. We may see many such [dust] storms in the decades ahead, along with species extinctions, radical disturbance of ecosystems, and intensified social conflict over land and water. Welcome to the Anthropocene, the epoch when humans have become a major geological and climatic force.
-
- (astronomy) The absorption or scattering of electromagnetic radiation emitted by astronomical objects by intervening dust and gas before it reaches the observer.
Related terms
Translations
the action of making or becoming extinct
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References
- extinction in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- extinction in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911