eradicate

verb

erad·i·cate i-ˈra-də-ˌkāt

eradicated; eradicating

transitive verb

: to do away with as completely as if by pulling up by the roots

programs to eradicate illiteracy

: to pull up by the roots

eradicable

i-ˈra-di-kə-bəl

adjective

eradication

i-ˌra-də-ˈkā-shən

noun

eradicator

i-ˈra-di-ˌkā-tər

noun

Did you know?

The Root of Eradicate Is, Literally, Root

Given that eradicate first meant "to pull up by the roots," it's not surprising that the root of eradicate means, in fact, "root." Eradicate, which first turned up in English in the 16th century, comes from eradicatus, the past participle of the Latin verb eradicare. Eradicare, in turn, can be traced back to the Latin word radix, meaning "root" or "radish." Although eradicate began life as a word for literal uprooting, by the mid-17th century it had developed a metaphorical application to removing things the way one might yank an undesirable weed up by the roots. Other descendants of radix in English include radical and radish. Even the word root itself is related; it comes from the same ancient word that gave Latin radix.

Choose the Right Synonym for eradicate

exterminate, extirpate, eradicate, uproot mean to effect the destruction or abolition of something.

exterminate implies complete and immediate extinction by killing off all individuals.

exterminate cockroaches

extirpate implies extinction of a race, family, species, or sometimes an idea or doctrine by destruction or removal of its means of propagation.

many species have been extirpated from the area

eradicate implies the driving out or elimination of something that has established itself.

a campaign to eradicate illiteracy

uproot implies a forcible or violent removal and stresses displacement or dislodgment rather than immediate destruction.

the war uprooted thousands

Example Sentences

The disease has now been completely eradicated. His ambition is to eradicate poverty in his community.

Recent Examples on the Web Similar declarations were made for the Zika virus in 2016 in Latin America and the ongoing effort to eradicate polio, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Hartford Courant, 23 July 2022 Similar declarations were made for the Zika virus in 2016 in Latin America and the ongoing effort to eradicate polio, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Maria Cheng, ajc, 23 July 2022 Some are to be celebrated, such as the effort to eradicate the Guinea worm, a spaghettilike parasite that grows up to 2.5 feet long inside an infected person’s digestive system before migrating to and eventually breaking through their skin.

Rachel Nuwer, Scientific American, 28 Apr. 2022 This dip gives us a fleeting opportunity—if not to eradicate the virus entirely in the next few years, then at least to keep cases so low that monkeypox is no longer a pressing threat.

Melody Schreiber, The New Republic, 16 Sep. 2022 The world has been trying to eradicate polio for decades, with two of the original three types of polio — types 2 and 3 — having been driven out of existence.

Helen Branswell, STAT, 23 July 2022 And because the bot uses thermal energy to eradicate weeds, rather than a physical intervention like tilling, the machine doesn’t disturb the soil below.

Manasee Wagh, Popular Mechanics, 24 June 2022 The worms also threaten to eradicate soil animal communities, negatively impacting millipedes, salamanders and ground-nesting birds.

CBS News, 15 June 2022 The clips and links were not difficult to find, even though Facebook, Twitter and other platforms pledged in 2019 to eradicate the footage, pushed partly by public outrage over the incident and by world governments.

New York Times, 19 May 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'eradicate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.