outroot
Definition
Verb (transitive):
- To uproot completely: "Outroot" means to remove something entirely, including its roots, from the ground.
- To eradicate or eliminate thoroughly: In a figurative sense, it refers to removing something completely, as if pulling it out by the roots, so that no trace remains.
Usage Examples
- (To remove the weeds completely, roots and all.)
- (To eliminate corruption entirely, as if pulling it out by its roots.)
- (To remove the tradition completely, leaving nothing behind.)
Advanced Usage
- "to outroot an idea": to eliminate a belief or concept entirely from someone's mind.
- The teacher tried to outroot the students' misconceptions about history. (To remove false beliefs completely.)
- "to outroot a habit": to break a deeply ingrained pattern of behaviour.
- He sought therapy to outroot his addiction to smoking. (To eliminate the addiction entirely.)
Variants and Related Words
- Outrooted (adj): completely removed or eradicated.
- The outrooted plants were replaced with new seedlings. (The plants that were completely removed.)
- Outrooting (n): the act of removing something by the roots.
- The outrooting of the old tree took several hours. (The process of removing the tree with its roots.)
Synonyms
- Uproot: to pull something out of the ground, including its roots.
- Eradicate: to destroy or remove something completely.
- Extirpate: to root out or destroy entirely (often used for pests or diseases).
- Annihilate: to destroy completely.
Related Idioms
- "Root and branch": completely and thoroughly (often used with "destroy" or "eliminate").
- The company was restructured root and branch to outroot inefficiency. (The restructuring was total and thorough.)
- "Nip in the bud": to stop something at an early stage before it develops.
- The manager nipped the conflict in the bud to outroot future problems. (Stopped the conflict early to prevent it from growing.)
Phrasal Verbs
- Outroot from: to remove something from a particular place or context.
- They outrooted the invasive species from the protected forest. (Removed the species completely from that area.)
- Outroot of: to extract something from a source.
- The historian outrooted the truth of the old manuscripts. (Extracted the truth completely from the documents.)