extinction
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ex·tinc·tion
(ĭk-stĭngk′shən)n.
1.
a. The act of extinguishing: The extinction of the fire took several hours.
b. The condition of being extinguished: mourned the extinction of her dreams.
2. The fact of being extinct or the process of becoming extinct: the extinction of the passenger pigeon; languages that are in danger of extinction.
3. Psychology A reduction or a loss in the strength or rate of a conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus or reinforcement is withheld.
4. Physiology A gradual decrease in the excitability of a nerve to a previously adequate stimulus, usually resulting in total loss of excitability.
5. Astronomy The dimming of celestial objects, usually measured in magnitudes, due to scattering and absorption of their light as it passes through interstellar dust clouds and the earth's atmosphere.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
extinction
(ɪkˈstɪŋkʃən) orextincture
n
1. the act of making extinct or the state of being extinct
2. the act of extinguishing or the state of being extinguished
3. complete destruction; annihilation
4. (General Physics) physics reduction of the intensity of radiation as a result of absorption or scattering by matter
5. (Astronomy) astronomy the dimming of light from a celestial body as it passes through an absorbing or scattering medium, such as the earth's atmosphere or interstellar dust
6. (Psychology) psychol a process in which the frequency or intensity of a learned response is decreased as a result of reinforcement being withdrawn. Compare habituation
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ex•tinc•tion
(ɪkˈstɪŋk ʃən)n.
1. the act of extinguishing.
2. the state of being extinguished or extinct.
3. the act or process of becoming extinct: the extinction of a species.
4. the reduction or loss of a conditioned response as a result of the absence or withdrawal of reinforcement.
5. the darkness that results from rotation of a thin section to an angle (extinc′tion an`gle) at which plane-polarized light is absorbed by the polarizer.
[1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Noun | 1. | extinction - no longer active; extinguished; "the extinction of the volcano" |
| 2. |  extinction - no longer in existence; "the extinction of a species"death - the absence of life or state of being dead; "he seemed more content in death than he had ever been in life" | |
| 3. | extinction - the reduction of the intensity of radiation as a consequence of absorption and radiation absorption - (physics) the process in which incident radiated energy is retained without reflection or transmission on passing through a medium; "the absorption of photons by atoms or molecules" natural action, natural process, action, activity - a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings); "the action of natural forces"; "volcanic activity" scattering - the physical process in which particles are deflected haphazardly as a result of collisions | |
| 4. |  extinction - complete annihilation; "they think a meteor cause the extinction of the dinosaurs"annihilation, disintegration - total destruction; "bomb tests resulted in the annihilation of the atoll" | |
| 5. | extinction - a conditioning process in which the reinforcer is removed and a conditioned response becomes independent of the conditioned stimulus conditioning - a learning process in which an organism's behavior becomes dependent on the occurrence of a stimulus in its environment | |
| 6. |  extinction - the act of extinguishing; causing to stop burning; "the extinction of the lights" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
extinction
noun dying out, death, destruction, abolition, oblivion, extermination, annihilation, eradication, obliteration, excision, extirpation Many species have been hunted to the point of extinction.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
extinction
noun1. Utter destruction:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
إخْمادإنْقِراض
slukninguddøenudryddelse
sukupuutto
kialváskihalás
aldauîi, útrÿmingslokknun
vyhasnutie
izumrtje
sön metükenmeyok olma
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
extinction
n (of race, family, animal, species, tribe) → Aussterben nt; (= annihilation) → Ausrottung f; threatened with or faced with or in danger of extinction → vom Aussterben bedroht; this animal was hunted to extinction → diese Tierart wurde durch Jagen ausgerottet
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
extinct
(ikˈstiŋkt) adjective1. (of a type of animal etc) no longer in existence. Mammoths became extinct in prehistoric times.
2. (of a volcano) no longer active. That volcano was thought to be extinct until it suddenly erupted ten years ago.
extinction (ikˈstiŋkʃən) noun1. making or becoming extinct. the extinction of the species.
2. the act of putting out or extinguishing (fire, hope etc).
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
ex·tinc·tion
n. extinción; supresión; cesación.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012