pogrom

1 of 2

noun

po·​grom pə-ˈgräm How to pronounce pogrom (audio)
-ˈgrəm,
pō-;
ˈpō-grəm,
ˈpä- How to pronounce pogrom (audio)
: an organized massacre of helpless people
specifically : such a massacre of Jews

pogrom

2 of 2

verb

pogromed; pogroming; pogroms

transitive verb

: to massacre or destroy in a pogrom

Examples of pogrom in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
From the 1880s on, his ships carried so many Jewish immigrants fleeing violent Russian and Eastern European pogroms that he could be considered the unsung godfather of their descendants—my family among them. Diane Cole, WSJ, 17 Nov. 2023 Advertisement Firsthand stories of pogroms, living in ghettos, violence endured were told to my generation. Lynn Dewoskin Covarrubias, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Oct. 2023 For example, look at the very understandable description of the events of the massacre of the 7th of October as a pogrom. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2023 The Holocaust was the largest loss of Jewish life in their long history of persecution and pogroms. Nick Watt, CNN, 22 Oct. 2023 Hence, commentators have variously invoked the anti-Jewish pogroms of eastern Europe more than a century ago, the Holocaust, and the surprise attack that began the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Foreign Affairs, 27 Oct. 2023 In the meantime, the Israeli army’s almost daily shooting of Palestinians and protecting Jewish settler pogroms have become unbearable including to many Israelis and American Jews. Daoud Kuttab, The New Republic, 24 Oct. 2023 In February, 1988, anti-Armenian pogroms in the Azerbaijani town of Sumgait left dozens dead. Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2023 Armenians in Azerbaijan have been victims of pogroms, while Azerbaijanis claim discrimination and violence at the hands of Armenians. Matt Bradley, NBC News, 28 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pogrom.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Yiddish, from Russ, literally, devastation

First Known Use

Noun

1891, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1915, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pogrom was in 1891

Dictionary Entries Near pogrom

Cite this Entry

“Pogrom.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pogrom. Accessed 9 Dec. 2023.

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