racial extermination
- noun
- /ˈreɪʃəl ɪkˌstɜːrmɪˈneɪʃən/
- Offensive
:
exterminio racial
- During World War II, many countries faced accusations of racial extermination due to their treatment of minority groups.
Examples
-
Witnesses reported the horrifying racial extermination carried out by the regime in the small village.
-
Marc, your argument is that Jewish people may be a special case because they were targeted for racial extermination.
Blog text (20) -
Nightingale takes us to turn-of-the-20th-century Chicago, where racial segregation was at times more draconian than it was in South Africa, and where some white segregationists argued for mass deportation or racial extermination.
Blog text (7) -
The government implemented a policy of racial extermination that led to the deaths of millions of innocent people.
Synonyms
150
4.4
The dying out of a species so it no longer exists
147
7.7
Killing many people on purpose because they are the same race, country, or religion
47
8.1
Complete destruction so nothing is left
38
6.7
Killing many people on purpose at the same time or in a short time
32
7.4
A complete killing or removal of a group of living things
24
9.9
Forcing people of one religion or race to leave an area by violence
19
6.8
Complete removal of something unwanted
10
9.9
An organized violent attack against a group of people of the same race or religion often allowed by authorities
2
8.8
Killing people for political or criminal reasons
Planned killing of a racial or cultural group to destroy them
A killing of many people at once that is cruel
How Violent
- Offensive
- Offensive
24
9.9
∞
1.4
596
4.6
∞
1.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase combines 'racial' (relating to race) with 'extermination' (complete destruction), so its meaning — systematic killing of a racial group — is directly inferable from the constituents. This adjective+noun composition is compositional and cross-linguistically common, making it readily understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Racial extermination uses racial (showing the target is a whole race or cultural group) and extermination (a word for removing or destroying all of something, as when something is completely cleared away). So, it means 'a planned action to kill or destroy a whole racial or cultural group'.