铲除

剷除

chǎnchú

verb #11,310

Meanings

警方决心铲除这个犯罪团伙。

Jǐngfāng juéxīn chǎnchú zhège fànzuì tuánhuǒ.

The police are determined to root out this criminal gang.

我们要铲除贪污腐败。

Wǒmen yào chǎnchú tānwū fǔbài.

We must eradicate corruption.

memory

Shovel (铲) + remove (除) = to shovel away, to dig out by the roots. Visualize uprooting weeds with a shovel.

usage

铲除 is stronger than 消除 (to eliminate). It implies completely uprooting something harmful -- often used for crime, corruption, or evil forces.

铲 chǎn

除 chú