regicide

noun

reg·​i·​cide ˈre-jə-ˌsīd How to pronounce regicide (audio)
1
: a person who kills a king
2
: the killing of a king
regicidal adjective

Examples of regicide in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The raw power grab that excites Lady Macbeth and incites her husband to regicide feels especially pertinent now, when the dangers of autocracy loom over political discussions. Peter Marks, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2024 Those Tories by the way have a particular penchant for political regicide before voters get the chance. Stephen Collinson, CNN, 19 Jan. 2023 The convulsions of 17th-century England are familiar: a civil war, a regicide and, eventually, a restoration of the monarchy. Jeffrey Collins, WSJ, 14 Oct. 2022 Stephen Root, in a single scene as Porter, lifts the grim, forensic business of regicide and its aftermath into the realm of knockabout farce. New York Times, 22 Dec. 2021 Sure, there was a Hamlet-esque regicide plotline among some lions. Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 11 July 2019 But regulatory moves can often take months or years to come into full effect, so a short-term prediction need not account for every possibility. King Coal’s regicide? Megan Geuss, Ars Technica, 11 July 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'regicide.' 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

Latin reg-, rex king + English -cide — more at royal

First Known Use

1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of regicide was in 1548

Dictionary Entries Near regicide

Cite this Entry

“Regicide.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/regicide. Accessed 6 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

regicide

noun
reg·​i·​cide ˈrej-ə-ˌsīd How to pronounce regicide (audio)
1
: a person who kills or helps to kill a king
2
: the killing of a king
regicidal
ˌrej-ə-ˈsīd-əl
adjective

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