extinguir
verbCEFR B2
What does “extinguir” mean in English?
to extinguish, to die out
to extinguish, to die out (transitive: extinguir un incendio; reflexive: extinguirse = become extinct)
Example sentences
Sin medidas urgentes, numerosas especies endémicas de este ecosistema podrían extinguirse en las próximas décadas.
Without urgent measures, numerous endemic species in this ecosystem could die out in the coming decades.
Los bomberos tardaron seis horas en extinguir el incendio que afectó a más de dos mil hectáreas.
Firefighters took six hours to extinguish the fire that affected more than two thousand hectares.
Si no se preservan, muchas lenguas minoritarias corren el riesgo de extinguirse antes de que puedan ser documentadas.
If they are not preserved, many minority languages risk dying out before they can be documented.
How to use it
Extinguir(se) means 'to extinguish' or 'to die out'. Transitive: extinguir un incendio (to put out a fire), extinguir la deuda (to extinguish a debt). Reflexive/intransitive: extinguirse — to die out, become extinct: la especie se está extinguiendo. At B2 the environmental sense (species extinction) and the figurative sense (traditions, voices dying out) are both important. The noun is la extinción. Don't confuse with apagar (to switch off or put out — less formal, everyday objects: apagar la luz, apagar un incendio also possible).
Common mistake
Extinguirse (die out) is the key reflexive pattern for extinction. Don't confuse with apagarse (to go out — lights, fires going out naturally) or desaparecer (to disappear — broader). Extinguirse implies the end of an entity's existence, not just its departure from a scene. Correr el riesgo de + infinitive is a key B2 risk-expression collocation.