ETYM Cf. French effacement.
Withdrawing into the background; making oneself inconspicuous; SYN. self-effacement.

ETYM Latin extinctio, exstinction: cf. French extinction.
In biology, the complete disappearance of a species. In the past, extinctions are believed to have occurred because species were unable to adapt quickly enough to a naturally changing environment. Today, most extinctions are due to human activity. Some species, such as the dodo of Mauritius, the moas of New Zealand, and the passenger pigeon of North America, were exterminated by hunting. Others became extinct when their habitat was destroyed. Endangered species are close to extinction.
Mass extinctions are episodes during which whole groups of species have become extinct, the best known being that of the dinosaurs, other large reptiles, and various marine invertebrates about 65 million years ago. Another mass extinction occurred about 10,000 years ago when many giant species of mammal died out. This is known as the “Pleistocene overkill�� because their disappearance was probably hastened by the hunting activities of prehistoric humans. The greatest mass extinction occurred about 250 million years ago marking the Permian-Triassic boundary (see geological time), when up to 96% of all living species became extinct. It was proposed 1982 that mass extinctions occur periodically, at approximately 26-million-year intervals.
The current mass extinction is largely due to human destruction of habitats, as in the tropical forests and coral reefs; it is far more serious and damaging than mass extinctions of the past because of the speed at which it occurs. Human-made climatic changes and pollution also make it less likely that the biosphere can recover and evolve new species to suit a changed environment. The rate of extinction is difficult to estimate, since most losses occur in the rich environment of the tropical rainforest, where the total number of existent species is not known. Conservative estimates put the rate of loss due to deforestation alone at 4,000 to 6,000 species a year. Overall, the rate could be as high as one species an hour, with the loss of one species putting those dependent on it at risk. Australia has the worst record for extinction: 18 mammals have disappeared since Europeans settled there, and 40 more are threatened.
1. Complete annihilation; SYN. extermination.
2. No longer in existence; SYN. defunctness.
3. No longer active; extinguished.
4. (Psychology) A learning process in which the reinforcer is removed and a conditioned response becomes independent of the conditioned stimulus; SYN. experimental extinction.
5. The act of extinguishing; causing to stop burning; SYN. extinguishing, quenching.
6. The reduction of the intensity of radiation as a consequence of absorption and radiation. + prikaži više

ETYM Latin obliteratio: cf.French oblitération.
The act of obliterating, or the state of being obliterated.