patricide
noun
pat·ri·cide
ˈpa-trə-ˌsīd 
1
[Late Latin patricidium, from Latin patr- + -cidium -cide]
: murder or killing of a father by his child
2
[Latin patricida, from patr- + -cida -cide]
: one who commits patricide
Examples of patricide in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The second season’s focus on the Menendez brothers’ patricide is loud, confrontational, and approaches the case from multiple perspectives at once, which can either come across as daring or incoherent.
—
Joe Reid, Vulture, 24 May 2025
When Joe is implicated in financial misdeeds connected to land deals conducted on the tribe’s behalf, Mack seizes upon the news to banish Joe from the reservation, a symbolic patricide also intended to damage Gloria’s campaign.
—Christopher Sorrentino, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2025
The movie includes intense domestic abuse (verbal, physical and emotional), gun violence, death and descriptions of patricide.
—Common Sense Media, Washington Post, 19 July 2024
The patricide was covered in lurid detail in the press.
—Sheelah Kolhatkar, The New Yorker, 24 July 2023
Within her extended Olympian family – forged in patricide and infidelity – she’s known as the trashy one.
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 15 May 2023
Of course, the paradox doesn’t apply just to instances of grand-patricide, but to all hypothetical situations where a time traveler goes back to prevent something from occurring.
—Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 27 Mar. 2023
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Joe Reid, Vulture, 24 May 2025
When Joe is implicated in financial misdeeds connected to land deals conducted on the tribe’s behalf, Mack seizes upon the news to banish Joe from the reservation, a symbolic patricide also intended to damage Gloria’s campaign.
—Christopher Sorrentino, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2025
The movie includes intense domestic abuse (verbal, physical and emotional), gun violence, death and descriptions of patricide.
—Common Sense Media, Washington Post, 19 July 2024
The patricide was covered in lurid detail in the press.
—Sheelah Kolhatkar, The New Yorker, 24 July 2023
Within her extended Olympian family – forged in patricide and infidelity – she’s known as the trashy one.
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 15 May 2023
Of course, the paradox doesn’t apply just to instances of grand-patricide, but to all hypothetical situations where a time traveler goes back to prevent something from occurring.
—Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 27 Mar. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Patricide.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patricide. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
patricide
noun
pat·ri·cide
ˈpa-trə-ˌsīd
: murder of a father by his son or daughter
Legal Definition
patricide
noun
pat·ri·cide
ˈpa-trə-ˌsīd
1
: an individual who murders his or her father
2
: the murder of an individual's own father
Etymology
Latin patricida, from patr-, pater father + -cida killer
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