eradicate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to remove or destroy utterly; extirpate.
to eradicate smallpox throughout the world.
- Synonyms:
- annihilate, exterminate, uproot, obliterate
-
to erase by rubbing or by means of a chemical solvent.
to eradicate a spot.
-
to pull up by the roots.
to eradicate weeds.
verb
-
to obliterate; stamp out
-
to pull or tear up by the roots
Related Words
See abolish.
Other Word Forms
- eradicable adjective
- eradicably adverb
- eradicant adjective
- eradication noun
- eradicative adjective
- eradicator noun
- noneradicative adjective
- uneradicated adjective
- uneradicative adjective
Etymology
Origin of eradicate
First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin ērādīcātus “rooted out” (past participle of ērādīcāre ), equivalent to ē- e- 1 + rādīc- (stem of rādīx ) root 1 + -ātus -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Documents obtained by the Creek Team detail chemicals used in 2024 to “eradicate nuisance weeds” in flood control channels, or “washes,” as many Southern Californians know them.
From Los Angeles Times
The WHO helped eradicate smallpox, established a framework that led to a dramatic worldwide reduction in tobacco use and helped control numerous pandemics, from Ebola to mpox to Zika.
From Salon
Duterte was elected president of the Philippines in 2016, having promised to eradicate street crime by cracking down on illegal drugs.
From BBC
In fact, they already have; the U.S. is experiencing a measles outbreak that will likely result in the nation losing its status as having eradicated the disease.
From Salon
Bono, 65, is well-known for his activism to eradicate poverty and fight AIDS, and has been outspoken against wars in Ukraine, Sudan and Gaza in recent years.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
