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Extinction vs Extermination - What's the difference?

extinction | extermination |

As nouns the difference between extinction and extermination

is that extinction is the action of making or becoming extinct; annihilation while extermination is the act of exterminating; total destruction; eradication; excision; as, the extermination of inhabitants or tribes, of error or vice, or of weeds from a field.

extinction

English

(wikipedia extinction)

Noun

(en noun)
  • The action of making or becoming extinct; annihilation.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2012-01
    • , author=Donald Worster , title=A Drier and Hotter Future , volume=100, issue=1, page=70 , magazine= citation , passage=Phoenix and Lubbock are both caught in severe drought, and it is going to get much worse. We may see many such [dust] storms in the decades ahead, along with species extinctions , radical disturbance of ecosystems, and intensified social conflict over land and water. Welcome to the Anthropocene, the epoch when humans have become a major geological and climatic force.}}
  • (astronomy) The absorption or scattering of electromagnetic radiation emitted by astronomical objects by intervening dust and gas before it reaches the observer.

    • Related terms

    * extinct * extinguish

    References

    * * ----

    extermination

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The act of exterminating; total destruction; eradication; excision; as, the extermination of inhabitants or tribes, of error or vice, or of weeds from a field.
  • Elimination.