Environment / B2

ik-STINGKSHUN/ɪkˈstɪŋkʃn/

Extinction is the dying out of a species, or the state of no longer existing (usually uncountable): mass extinction; on the brink of extinction. Extinct is the adjective; endangered is not yet gone; extirpation is local loss. Quote the extinction date in the fossil table, then the species. Mix-up: extinction vs distinction; extinguish (already in a B2 list); do not write extinction for a fall in numbers that the table still lists as living.

Meaning

The dying out of a species, or the state of no longer existing (usually uncountable).

Examples

• “Quote the extinction date in the fossil table, then the species, not a slogan.”
• “Language extinction featured in the citizenship case, which is the dying-language sense — still name the language.”

Good to know

mass / species extinction; on the brink of extinction; extinct. Contrast: endangered / extant. Related: extinguish (put out — already in B2). Trap: distinction / a living population still in the table. Biology and geography. The dying out of a species — quote the date and the name.

Near in meaning

dying out, disappearance, loss

Topics

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