Extinguish

Pronunciation: /ɪkˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ/

Definitions of extinguish

verb to cause to cease to burn; to put out

Example Sentences

A1 Firefighters work hard to extinguish fires.

A2 Please make sure to extinguish all candles before leaving the room.

B1 The firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the small kitchen fire.

B2 It took hours for the firefighters to completely extinguish the forest fire.

C1 The new fire extinguisher technology is designed to quickly and efficiently extinguish flames.

C2 The firefighter's quick actions helped to extinguish the blaze before it could spread to other buildings.

Examples of extinguish in a Sentence

formal The firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the house fire before it spread to neighboring buildings.

informal I grabbed the fire extinguisher and managed to extinguish the small kitchen fire before it got out of control.

slang He tried to extinguish the rumors about him dating a celebrity, but they just kept spreading.

figurative Her kindness was like a flame that could never be extinguished, no matter what challenges she faced.

Grammatical Forms of extinguish

• past tense: extinguished
• plural: extinguishes
• comparative: more extinguished
• superlative: most extinguished
• present tense: extinguish
• future tense: will extinguish
• perfect tense: has extinguished
• continuous tense: is extinguishing
• singular: extinguish
• positive degree: extinguish
• infinitive: to extinguish
• gerund: extinguishing
• participle: extinguished

Origin and Evolution of extinguish

First Known Use: 1250 year

Language of Origin: Latin

Story behind the word: The word 'extinguish' originated from the Latin word 'exstinguere', which is a combination of 'ex-' (meaning 'out') and 'stinguere' (meaning 'to quench').

Evolution of the word: Over time, the word 'extinguish' has retained its original meaning of 'to quench or put out a fire', but has also evolved to include the idea of putting an end to something or making something disappear completely.