Literary notes about Extinguish (AI summary)
In literature, "extinguish" operates on both a literal and metaphorical level. Authors use it to depict the physical quenching of flames, as in the act of putting out candles or fires ([1],[2]), while also employing it to convey the sudden cessation of emotions, ideas, or even life itself ([3],[4]). The word’s dual capacity is evident when it signifies both a deliberate effort to end a discussion or phenomenon, as in quelling a subject’s momentum ([5]), and a tragic self-obliteration borne of inner turmoil ([6]). This versatility allows "extinguish" to serve as a vivid, multifaceted device that enriches the narrative by bridging concrete actions with abstract, emotional dynamics.
- When our guests are ready to leave the house, I will myself give you notice, that you may let us out and extinguish the candles."
— from History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I - Beholding Khandava on fire the dwellers (in the forest) that were there, made great efforts to extinguish the conflagration.
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 - Anguish and despair had penetrated into the core of my heart; I bore a hell within me, which nothing could extinguish.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - I have believed it to be my destiny to guide and rule the last of the race of man, till death extinguish my government; and to this destiny I submit.
— from The Last Man by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - she suggested, relieved to have hit on a word that would assuredly extinguish the whole subject.
— from The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton - He trampled himself to extinguish himself.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence
