extinguish
verb
Simple meaning
Put an end to.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihkstinggwishSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪksˈtɪŋɡwɪʃ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Put an end to; kill
transitivefigurative
To put an end to (something) completely; to annihilate, to destroy.
Put out, as of fires, flames, or lights
“Too big to be extinguished at once, the forest fires at best could be contained.”
transitivefigurative
To eclipse or obscure (someone or something).
Kill in large numbers
transitivefigurative
To suppress (something, as feelings, a person's spirit, a state of affairs, etc.); to quench.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Rare
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Word Aura is being prepared for this meaning.
More ways to use extinguish
- “Too big to be extinguished at once, the forest fires at best could be contained.”verb
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
A manually operated device for extinguishing small fires.
The act of extinguishing.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A manually operated device for extinguishing small fires.
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “extinguish” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.