butcher 1 of 2

noun

ˈbu̇-chər How to pronounce butcher (audio)
Definition of butchernext
as in blunderer
someone who bungles an effort the newest intern on the campaign is a butcher when it comes to writing press releases

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

butcher

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to slaughter
to kill on a large scale the barbarians butchered the monks in the monasteries without mercy

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2
as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way the new piano student butchered the sonatina

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of butcher
Noun
Sabrina came from a high-status family of scholars, and Phillip, the struggling musician and child of butchers, wasn’t enough for her family. — Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026 Another dining option is The Butcher and Bottle, where the menu highlights butcher cuts, seafood, and delectable starters. — Katie Strasberg Rousso, Southern Living, 15 Oct. 2026
Verb
Indirect signs also suggest the proto-Neolithic community also dined on the European glass lizard (Pseudopus apodus), which featured tough scales that necessitated a completely different type of butchering. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 20 Aug. 2026 But isn’t the manager culpable when his dugout repeatedly butchers fundamental baserunning and defensive basics? — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 17 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for butcher
Recent Examples of Synonyms for butcher
  1. incompetent
  2. slaughter
  3. fumble
  4. blow
  5. murder
  6. dub
  7. mangle
  8. ruin
Noun
  • The Dodgers reached the pinnacle honestly, in a capitalistic structure that properly hands no favors to the incompetent.
    — Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Jan. 2026
Definition of incompetent
Verb
  • Until then, the RSF will, based on its actions over the past two decades, continue to slaughter tens, if not hundreds, of thousands more.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 31 Oct. 2026
  • In one of the many scary dream sequences David Naughton has while becoming a werewolf, his Jewish family back home is slaughtered by Nazi monsters.
    — Vulture Editors, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of slaughter
Verb
  • Three plays later, Austin Simmons hit Cayden Lee, who got blasted by a Longhorn defender and fumbled to set up the game-sealing Texas TD.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 8 Nov. 2026
  • And four plays after Browne fumbled at his own 2, Washington scored on 1 -yard plunge.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of fumble
Verb
  • The Jets blew a nine-point halftime lead and wasted a 33-point afternoon against a Raiders team that had lost four straight.
    — Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 7 Nov. 2026
  • As the final whistle blew at CPKC Stadium, signaling victory for the Kansas City Current in a Saturday playoff match, a release of joy swept across the field.
    — Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of blow
Verb
  • It was consecrated by James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, young Black and Jewish men murdered together in 1964 for their work to register Black voters.
    — Seth Limmer, Chicago Tribune, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Two months earlier, another jury convicted her of conspiring to murder her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, whom Cox shot and killed in July 2019.
    — Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of murder
Verb
  • President Nikos Christodoulides told The Associated Press in an exclusive statement that the first of a number of natural gas fields discovered off Cyprus, dubbed Cronos, is expected to start production in the first half of 2028.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2026
  • After wildfire victims dubbed the plan a corporate bailout, Newsom abandoned most of it and tried to push a compromise that would help fire victims receive quicker compensation.
    — Jenny Jarvie Follow, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of dub
Verb
  • The heavy rain washed out part of a main highway between Flagstaff and Sedona, mangling guard rails and littering the road with boulders and trees.
    — Christopher Weber, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The bit caught a pipe strap and wrenched him off a ladder, tearing off his thumb and mangling his hand.
    — Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of mangle
Verb
  • Someone else even complained about the self-clean feature ruining their appliance.
    — Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Unless someone caught the problem in time, the heat ruined the food before anyone had a chance to salvage it.
    — Peter Hall, Scientific American, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of ruin

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butch
butcher
butchered
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Cite this Entry

“Butcher.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/butcher. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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