noun

extermination

ik-stur-mih-NAY-shuhn/ɪkˌstɜːrmɪˈneɪʃn/

The killing or complete destruction of an entire group.

The pest control company specializes in the extermination of termites.

An opened empty termite-damaged wood sample beside a shallow tray containing a whole small cluster of motionless termites after treatment, no living insects, non-graphic complete pest destruction.

Etymology

exLatinout of

+terminLatinboundary, limit

+ationLatinaction or process

The pieces evoke the act of driving people beyond a boundary, hence ejection or banishment. That action noun came to mean utter destruction or eradication, underlying its use for completely killing a group.

In context

jabowenTube1:31

what he's accused of is collaboration yes collaboration with the Nazis in their extermination of nearly 1 million Hungarian Jews in 1944

Perdition discussion, part 1

More examples

The regime ordered the extermination of an entire ethnic group.
Complete extermination of the invasive beetles may take several years.
The treatment aims at extermination, not merely reducing the rat population.

Forms

extermination · exterminations

exterminate verb — To kill or destroy an entire group.

exterminator noun — A person whose job is killing pests.

Similar words

eradication: Also covers eliminating diseases or problems, not just living groups.
annihilation: Emphasizes total destruction and can apply to nonliving things.
genocide: Specifies intentional destruction of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.