fratricide

noun

frat·​ri·​cide ˈfra-trə-ˌsīd 

1

: the act of murdering or killing one's own brother or sister or an individual (as a countryman) having a relationship like that of a brother or sister

2

: one who commits fratricide

fratricidal

ˌfra-trə-ˈsī-dᵊl 

adjective

Examples of fratricide in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But Iran did little to stop the fratricide. —Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025

But what is absolutely clear to me right now is that this Israeli government is committing suicide, homicide and fratricide. —Thomas L. Friedman, Mercury News, 28 Aug. 2025

The place where Dante cast endless sinners, upside down in hellholes of their own carving, or in the tangled forest of suicides, or with the fratricides in the ninth circle, all of them eternally condemned. —Literary Hub, 11 June 2025

The fratricide overshadowed Caracalla’s achievements, including the passage of an edict granting all free men in the Roman Empire citizenship and the construction of a luxurious public bath complex that bore the emperor’s name. —Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

in sense 2, from Middle English, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin fratricida, from fratr-, frater brother + -cida -cide; in sense 1, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin fratricidium, from fratr-, frater + -cidium -cide

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for fratricide

• actinide
• aldehyde
• alkoxide
• alongside
• amplified
• arsenide
• beautified
• biocide
• butoxide
• calcified
• ceramide
• certified

Legal Definition

fratricide

noun

frat·​ri·​cide ˈfra-trə-ˌsīd 

1

: one that murders or kills his or her own brother or sister or an individual (as a countryman) having a relationship like that of a brother or sister

2

: the act of a fratricide

fratricidal

ˌfra-trə-ˈsīd-ᵊl 

adjective

Etymology

Middle French, from Latin fratricida, from fratr-, frater brother + -cida killing