extinction
Pronunciation: /ɪkˈstɪŋkʃən/
The English word “extinction” has 4 meanings listed here.
noun
- The action of making or becoming extinct; annihilation.
- The absorption or scattering of electromagnetic radiation emitted by astronomical objects by intervening dust and gas before it reaches the observer.
- The inability to perceive multiple stimuli simultaneously.
- The fading of a conditioned response over time if it is not reinforced.
Etymology
From late Middle English, borrowed from Latin extinctio (“extinction, annihilation”), from extinguere, past participle extinctus (“to extinguish”); see extinguish.
Keep exploring: in the interactive dictionary every word of a definition is a link. Open “extinction” there
More English words
- extinct
- extinct language
- extincteur
- extinctic
- extinction burst
- extinction event
- extinction level event
- extinction memory
About this dictionary
The English dictionary on Glottosphere has 650,529 entries with a page. Browse the English dictionary.
Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.