根絶|こんぜつkonzetsu[0]heiban (flat)

Common
Definitions
  1. noun, suru verb, transitive verberadication; extermination; rooting out; stamping out; getting rid of
    人間にんげんの野蛮やばん性せいは決けっして根絶こんぜつできない。↗
    The savage in man is never quite eradicated.
Conjugation
Dictionary form根絶する(こんぜつする)
Polite (masu)根絶します(こんぜつします)
Negative (nai)根絶しない(こんぜつしない)
polite (masen)根絶しません(こんぜつしません)
classical zu / nu根絶せず・根絶せぬ(こんぜつせず・こんぜつせぬ)
Past (ta)根絶した(こんぜつした)
polite (mashita)根絶しました(こんぜつしました)
Past negative (nakatta)根絶しなかった(こんぜつしなかった)
polite (masen deshita)根絶しませんでした(こんぜつしませんでした)
Te form根絶して(こんぜつして)
Potential根絶できる(こんぜつできる)
Passive根絶される(こんぜつされる)
Causative根絶させる(こんぜつさせる)
Causative passive根絶させられる(こんぜつさせられる)
Conditional (ba)根絶すれば(こんぜつすれば)
tara根絶したら(こんぜつしたら)
Volitional根絶しよう(こんぜつしよう)
polite (mashou)根絶しましょう(こんぜつしましょう)
Imperative根絶しろ(こんぜつしろ)

Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.

Synonyms & antonyms
  • Synonym撲滅ぼくめつNeutralNeutral. Stamping out social ills such as disease and crime, as in 「暴力撲滅」; very close to 「根絶」.
  • Synonym退治たいじNeutralNeutral and common in speech. Exterminating pests or monsters, also curing an illness, as in 「ゴキブリ退治」.
  • Synonym掃討そうとうWrittenWritten/formal prose. Sweeping away enemies or harmful, unwanted things, often mopping up remnants; 「根絶」 cuts off disease and vice at the root.
  • Synonym絶滅ぜつめつNeutralNeutral. Species extinction, but also eradication; the emphasis is on the result of complete disappearance.
  • Synonym駆除くじょNeutralNeutral. Driving out or killing pests such as insects, rats and vermin, as in 「害虫駆除」; 「根絶」 aims at complete removal from the root.
  • Synonym駆逐くちくWrittenWritten/formal prose. Driving out or expelling, as in 「悪貨は良貨を駆逐する」.
  • Synonym全滅ぜんめつNeutralNeutral. Total annihilation — all dying or being wiped out, as in 「敵を全滅させる」; 「根絶」 uproots a scourge at its source.
  • Synonym滅ぼすほろぼすNeutralNeutral verb. To destroy or bring to ruin, as in 「国を滅ぼす」「身を滅ぼす」; 「根絶」 is about removing the root of an evil.
  • Synonym掃滅そうめつWrittenWritten/formal prose. Wiping out enemies, with a military mopping-up nuance; 「根絶」 targets disease and vice at their root.
  • Synonym撃滅げきめつWrittenWritten/formal prose, a military term. Crushing and annihilating enemy forces; the target is an enemy.
  • Synonym殲滅せんめつWrittenWritten/formal prose. Utterly destroying, leaving none behind — enemy troops, pests, even cancer cells; 「根絶」 stresses cutting disease and vice off at the root.
  • Synonym根絶やしねだやしNeutralColloquial and vivid. Same meaning as 「根絶」 — rooting something out completely — but more conversational.
  • Synonym根こそぎねこそぎNeutralColloquial. Uprooting so that nothing remains; also used adverbially to mean entirely or completely.
  • Related抹殺まっさつWrittenWritten/formal prose. Erasing something or denying its existence, as in 「存在を抹殺する」.
  • Related皆殺しみなごろしNeutralColloquial, with a bloody tone. Killing every last person or animal; 「根絶」 usually targets scourges like disease and vice.
  • Related鏖殺おうさつWrittenWritten/formal prose but rare even there. Massacring every last person; the wording is graphic and bloody.
  • Related討ち滅ぼすうちほろぼすWrittenLiterary, archaic verb. To vanquish and utterly destroy by force; the object is an enemy.
  • Related覆滅ふくめつWrittenWritten/formal prose, rare. The complete overthrow and destruction of a state, army or organization; 「根絶」 cuts off scourges like disease and vice.
  • Related討滅とうめつWrittenWritten/formal prose, rare. Subduing and utterly destroying an enemy, evil force or scourge; 「根絶」 stresses cutting it off at the root.
  • Antonym温存おんぞんNeutralAntonym. Preserving something or keeping it in reserve — the opposite of 「根絶」's thorough removal.
  • Antonym蔓延まんえんNeutralAntonym. Spreading unchecked, as in an epidemic; the opposite of 「根絶」.

Use 「根絶」 for eradicating disease, vice or crime at the root, as in 「天然痘の根絶」 and 「暴力の根絶」. For stamping out social ills, 「撲滅」 is close; for pests, 「退治」 or 「駆除」; for annihilating enemy forces, 「殲滅」. Many of the others are written or military terms for destroying enemies. The opposite is 「蔓延」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

Japanese definitions
  1. 根本こんぽんから絶たつこと。根ねこそぎにすること。
Kanji in this word

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