different between sinking vs extinction

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?s??k??/
• Rhymes: -??k??

Verb

sinking

1. present participle of sink

Derived terms

• like rats from a sinking ship

Noun

sinking (plural sinkings)

1. The process by which something sinks.

   I witnessed the sinking of my ship from the shore.

   • 1857, Pamphlets on Biology: Kofoid collection

     We must endeavour to realize a succession of gradual sinkings or depressions into deep water, alternating with gradual emergings into shallows, and eventually a gradual continued lifting of the whole district […]

Anagrams

• inkings

English

Etymology

From late Middle English, borrowed from Latin extinctio (“extinction, annihilation”), from extinguere, past participle extinctus (“to extinguish”); see extinguish.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?k?st??k??n/

Noun

extinction (countable and uncountable, plural extinctions)

1. The action of making or becoming extinct; annihilation.
2. (astronomy) The absorption or scattering of electromagnetic radiation emitted by astronomical objects by intervening dust and gas before it reaches the observer.
3. (pathology) The inability to perceive multiple stimuli simultaneously.
4. (psychology) The fading of a conditioned response over time if it is not reinforced.

Related terms

• extinctionism
• extinctionist
• extinct
• extinguish
• hemiextinction

Translations

References

• extinction in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• extinction in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• ctenitoxin

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin extincti?, extincti?nem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?k.st??k.sj??/

Noun

extinction f (plural extinctions)

1. extinction

Related terms

• éteint

Further reading

• “extinction” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).