Learn English – verb form of “Extinct”

single-word-requestsverbs

Is there (modern) verb meaning "to cause to become extinct" please? The desired word would have the same root as "extinct".

The closest I could find etymologically was "extinguish", but its usage is archaic according to this link and, to me, it sounds like more of a synonym than a word with the same root.

As an example:

Humans have accidentally (extinct(v)(past tense)) at least x species in the past 5 years.

To clarify, I am aware of plenty of words that can fill the gap. I was specifically looking for a "real" equivalent to "extinct-ify"

Best Answer

As as direct answer to the question, no. Not in a modern way.

I know you're asking for a specific word, but I feel the only way to maintain the correct context and meaning would be to rephrase the whole sentence:

At least x species in the past 5 years have become extinct accidentally by human activity .

Any other way would look unusual in my opinion.

edit to add based on comments

We should probably put accidentally before extinct.

At least x species in the past 5 years have become accidentally extinct by human activity.

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