exterminative
Definition
Adjective: - Tending to destroy completely: "exterminative" describes something that has the quality or purpose of eradicating or wiping out an entire group, species, or population.
Usage Examples
- (Describing policies aimed at complete destruction of a group.)
- (The chemical killed all insects in the area.)
- (His words advocated for complete destruction of rivals.)
Advanced Usage
"Exterminative force": a power or agency that causes total annihilation.
- The army acted as an exterminative force, leaving no survivors. (The military destroyed everyone completely.)
"Exterminative intent": the deliberate aim to cause total destruction.
- The bombing campaign showed clear exterminative intent. (The attacks were designed to wipe out the target entirely.)
Variants and Related Words
Exterminate (verb): to destroy completely; to kill all of a group.
- The species was nearly exterminated by hunters. (Almost all individuals were killed.)
Extermination (noun): the act of destroying completely.
- The extermination of the pests took several weeks. (The complete killing of the pests.)
Exterminator (noun): a person or thing that exterminates, especially a professional who kills pests.
- We called an exterminator to remove the termites. (A professional pest-killer.)
Synonyms
- Annihilative: causing complete destruction.
- Eradicative: tending to remove or destroy entirely.
- Genocidal: relating to the deliberate killing of a large group of people (often used for human groups).
- Destructive: causing great damage or harm.
Related Idioms
Wipe out: to destroy completely.
- The disease nearly wiped out the entire village. (It killed almost everyone.)
Root out: to remove or destroy completely.
- The dictator tried to root out all dissent. (He attempted to eliminate all opposition.)