FluentPlex

extinction

/ɪkˈstɪŋkʃən/ noun B1
  1. The action of making or becoming extinct; annihilation. (countable, uncountable)
  2. The absorption or scattering of electromagnetic radiation emitted by astronomical objects by intervening dust and gas before it reaches the observer. (countable, uncountable)
  3. The inability to perceive multiple stimuli simultaneously. (countable, uncountable)
  4. The fading of a conditioned response over time if it is not reinforced. (countable, uncountable)

Plural extinctions

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From the library

A great brain and a huge organization have been turned to the extinction of one man.
The Valley of Fear, p. 101 · C1
Your memoirs will draw to an end, Watson, upon the day that I crown my career by the capture or extinction of the most dangerous and capable criminal in Europe.”
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, p. 120 · B2
The sudden extinction of the moccoletti, the darkness which had replaced the light, and the silence which had succeeded the turmoil, had left in Franz’s mind a certain depression which was not free from uneasiness.
The Count of Monte Cristo, p. 389 · C1
Perhaps the most poignant casualty of this ongoing technological transition is the slow, inevitable extinction of the personalized signature.
The Disappearing Signature, p. 1 · C1

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Words, meanings, pronunciations and translations from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); how common each word is from wordfreq. Made into this dictionary by FluentPlex.