The word "剿灭" is formed by combining the character "剿", which conveys raiding or exterminating, structured with the radical "刂" (knife) indicating a cutting action and the component "巢" serving primarily as a phonetic element, with the character "灭", meaning to extinguish or destroy, derived from a pictographic idea of smothering fire. Together, they create a compound where "剿" contributes the sense of forceful eradication and "灭" emphasizes total elimination, resulting in the meaning of complete annihilation.