Words / B2

ik-STINGW-ish/ɪkˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ/

To extinguish is to make a fire or light stop burning, or to end a feeling or right: extinguish a fire; extinguish a claim. Put out is the everyday twin; quench is a close science twin for flames or thirst. Extinguish the Bunsen in the practical; an extinguished right still needs the statute named. Mix-up: extinguish vs distinguish; extinct (of a species); do not write extinguish for a slogan “kill the mood” with no fire or legal right.

Meaning

To make a fire or light stop burning, or to end a feeling or right (extinguish a claim).

Examples

• “Extinguish the Bunsen in the practical; an extinguished right still needs the statute named.”
• “An extinguisher featured in the H&S brief, which is the equipment sense — still name the class of fire.”

Good to know

extinguish a fire / light / claim; fire extinguisher; extinct (species — different word). Everyday: put out. Close: quench. Trap: distinguish. Science, H&S, and law. Put out a fire, or end a right — name the statute or the class of fire.

Near in meaning

quench, put out, douse

New