燼じん滅めつ

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru'

complete destruction by fire; burning to ashes

Literary or formal term for total annihilation by fire. Often used in historical or dramatic contexts. The する form means 'to burn something to ashes' or 'to be reduced to ashes'.

• その城しろは戦せん火かで燼じん滅めつした。

  The castle was completely destroyed by the flames of war.

• 古こ文ぶん書しょには、村むらが一いち夜やにして燼じん滅めつしたと記しるされている。

  The ancient document records that the village was reduced to ashes in a single night.

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru'

extinction; disappearance

Rare, figurative extension: complete vanishing or extinction of something non-physical, such as a tradition or species. Not common in modern speech; 絶滅 or 消滅 are more usual.

• その風ふう習しゅうは近きん代だい化かとともに燼じん滅めつした。

  That custom disappeared completely with modernization.