When you're talking about getting rid of things, usually you just need a sturdy little word like "raze," "erase," "remove," or "root out." But when you need a formal, dramatic, slightly rare word to really grab your reader's attention, you need "extirpate."

(Or "eradicate." They're almost identical. "Extirpate" suggests bigger, more violent uprooting, like you're ripping out tree stumps down to the root, while "eradicate" suggests ripping out smaller things like weeds or radishes.)

Talk about people or conditions that extirpate things, often from places: "That species was extirpated from this continent;' "Although the US is not technically a Christian nation, you cannot extirpate Christianity from US popular culture."

Don't quote me on this, because I'm not an environmental scientist, but many people write about species being extirpated from a certain area, as opposed to being extinct from existence entirely.

When we're not using "extirpate" to talk about endangered species, there's often a furious or righteous energy that accompanies extirpation: "They're extirpating heresy;" "They tried to extirpate paganism;" "She hates that word and is trying to extirpate it from the Internet."

"Gray wolves are native to California but had been extirpated from the state by the 1920s."
— Teju Cole, Washington Times, 12 August 2023

"There was no single moment when Hungary made the jump from democracy to a kind of authoritarianism. The change was subtle and slow — a gradual hollowing out of democracy rather than its extirpation."
— Zack Beauchamp, Vox, 3 January 2022

has this page helped you understand "extirpate"?

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If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "extirpate" without saying "rip out entirely" or "banish."

try it out:

When it comes to getting rid of bad habits, we can talk about "breaking" them, "erasing" them, "banishing" them, and so on. (Or as we're often advised, "replacing" them.) But if we're really gung-ho about it, we can talk about "extirpating" them.

Talk about a bad habit, a bad influence, or some other source of pain that you'd like to extirpate from your life.

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for March is "Tidbits and Titles: Books That Became Movies!"

I provide the tidbits; you provide the title. And every answer will be a book that has been made into a movie. To see the answer, scroll all the way down. Let's play!

Here's a quote from the book: "'These things came out nice and white, didn't they?' She put the folded T-shirt into the laundry basket, smiling. Like an actress in a commercial."

Here are some words and phrases that often appear in that book: Changed, coat, coffee, darkroom, Fairview Lane, glass, hair, housework, Men's Association, robots, rock music, smiled, tennis, waiting, Women's Club, yes.

What's the book's title?

review this word:

1. Opposites of EXTIRPATE include

A. BRING and INVITE.
B. MIX and INTEGRATE.
C. PLANT and CULTIVATE.

2. The Verge reported that a photo-sharing app called iNaturalist "aided in rediscovering a species of mussel thought to be extirpated _____."

A. since the 1960s
B. from the Northeast United States
C. by predators like otters and muskrats

Answers to the review questions: 1. C 2. B Answer to the game question: The Stepford Wives.

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.