mercy killing

Definition of mercy killing

Examples of mercy killing in a Sentence

Some called her death a mercy killing.

Recent Examples on the Web The doctor carried out the mercy killing with her family’s consent and support. — Washington Post, "World Digest: Sept. 11, 2019," 11 Sep. 2019 The woman later gave mixed signals about her desire to die, but the doctor, in close consultation with the woman’s family, decided to go ahead with the mercy killing. — Mike Corder, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Dutch Supreme Court asked to clarify euthanasia case," 26 Sep. 2019 In the Bollinger case, a handicapped baby was refused a lifesaving operation in Chicago in 1915, touching off a national debate over mercy killing the mentally disabled. — Grazie Pozo Christie, National Review, "When Does the Right to Die Become the Duty to Die?," 13 Feb. 2018 After both of those mercy kill eliminations, there's only one more woman cut at the actual rose ceremony this week: poor Bibi. — Ashley Iaconetti, Cosmopolitan, "Bachelor Recap: You Can't Teach An Old Dog New Tricks," 16 Jan. 2018 In fact, the roots of mercy killing in modern times are lodged in the unsavory and downright savage practices of the last century. — Grazie Pozo Christie, National Review, "When Does the Right to Die Become the Duty to Die?," 13 Feb. 2018 Spirit Airlines has since come out to deny any wrongdoing, saying that while Aldecosea was misinformed initially by the airline initially, a gate representative did not suggest mercy killing Pebbles. — Sarah Weldon, Cosmopolitan, "This College Student Flushed Her Emotional Support Hamster Down the Toilet After Spirit Airlines Allegedly Refused to Let it Board," 8 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mercy killing.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about mercy killing

Dictionary Entries near mercy killing

mercury-vapor lamp

Statistics for mercy killing

Cite this Entry

“Mercy killing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mercy%20killing. Accessed 4 Jun. 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for mercy killing

mercy killing

noun

English Language Learners Definition of mercy killing

: the killing of someone who is very sick or injured in order to prevent any further suffering

See the full definition for mercy killing in the English Language Learners Dictionary

mercy killing

mer·cy kill·ing | \ ˈmər-sē-ˌkil-iŋ

\

Medical Definition of mercy killing

mercy killing

mer·cy kill·ing

Legal Definition of mercy killing

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

posture

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

May 2020 Words of the Day Quiz

Which is a synonym of exiguous?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.