extinction
/ɪkˈstɪŋkʃən/noun
extinction is spelled E-X-T-I-N-C-T-I-O-N: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 5.8 times per million words in written English, the 10,196th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, extinction means “The action of making or becoming extinct; annihilation” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of extinction is extinctions.
How many letters and syllables are in extinction?
| Letters | 10: E-X-T-I-N-C-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.8 times per million words; the 10,196th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is extinction?
Extinction appears 5.8 times per million words in written English, the 10,196th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce extinction?
- /ɪkˈstɪŋkʃən/
Extinction has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-extinction.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of extinction
- extinctions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does extinction mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The action of making or becoming extinct; annihilation.
- 2
The absorption or scattering of electromagnetic radiation emitted by astronomical objects by intervening dust and gas before it reaches the observer.
- 3
The inability to perceive multiple stimuli simultaneously.
- 4
The fading of a conditioned response over time if it is not reinforced.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Extinction in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the action of making or becoming extinct:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | extinction |
| German | Aussterben |
| Portuguese | extinção |
| Spanish | extinción |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does extinction come from?
From late Middle English, borrowed from Latin extinctio (“extinction, annihilation”), from extinguere, past participle extinctus (“to extinguish”); see extinguish.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).