Extirpation

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Extirpation \Ex`tir*pa"tion\, n. [L. extirpatio, exstirpatio:
     cf. F. extirpation.]
     The act of extirpating or rooting out, or the state of being
     extirpated; eradication; excision; total destruction; as, the
     extirpation of weeds from land, of evil from the heart, of a
     race of men, of heresy.


     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  extirpation
       n 1: surgical removal of a body part or tissue [syn: {ablation},
            {cutting out}, {excision}]
       2: the act of pulling up or out; uprooting; cutting off from
          existence [syn: {excision}, {deracination}]