1
as in slaughtering
to kill on a large scale
the barbarians butchered the monks in the monasteries without mercy
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in fumbling
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
the new piano student butchered the sonatina
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of butchering
The same day, a friend sent him an article about pig-butchering schemes.
—
Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 29 Nov. 2025
This can include field dressing, skinning, butchering into various cuts and packaging.
—Gabrielle Chenault, Nashville Tennessean, 23 Oct. 2025
However, the miniature accessories didn’t seem to stop a group of humans from felling and butchering the elephant.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 8 Oct. 2025
The artifacts included thimbles, a needle remnant and buttons — in addition to animal bones that showed signs of butchering.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2025
But there’s only one way to get good at butchering, and that’s to do a bunch of it each fall — and follow these tips.
—Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 28 Aug. 2025
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bushmeat has the potential to spread diseases like Ebola due to hunting, butchering, and processing meat from infected animals.
—Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 23 Aug. 2025
Jarrett Stidham’s preseason stats, after another night spent butchering another second-team defense, are Madden Career Mode-worthy.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 17 Aug. 2025
Calio artifacts The Calio artifacts are small, sharp flakes, the kind of tools early humans would have used for tasks like butchering animals or processing plants.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 6 Aug. 2025
Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 29 Nov. 2025
This can include field dressing, skinning, butchering into various cuts and packaging.
—Gabrielle Chenault, Nashville Tennessean, 23 Oct. 2025
However, the miniature accessories didn’t seem to stop a group of humans from felling and butchering the elephant.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 8 Oct. 2025
The artifacts included thimbles, a needle remnant and buttons — in addition to animal bones that showed signs of butchering.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2025
But there’s only one way to get good at butchering, and that’s to do a bunch of it each fall — and follow these tips.
—Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 28 Aug. 2025
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bushmeat has the potential to spread diseases like Ebola due to hunting, butchering, and processing meat from infected animals.
—Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 23 Aug. 2025
Jarrett Stidham’s preseason stats, after another night spent butchering another second-team defense, are Madden Career Mode-worthy.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 17 Aug. 2025
Calio artifacts The Calio artifacts are small, sharp flakes, the kind of tools early humans would have used for tasks like butchering animals or processing plants.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for butchering
Verb
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She was convicted and fined five times in French courts of inciting racial hatred, in incidents inspired by her opposition to the Muslim practice of slaughtering sheep during annual religious holidays.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Dec. 2025
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The pearl-clutchers are stuck in the past, blubbering over things like the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War or the Waffen-SS slaughtering 84 American soldiers captured in Malmedy, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge.—
Doug McIntyre,
Oc Register,
7 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Yet, as any visitor stalled in traffic or fumbling for cash to top up a transit card discovers, the old Seoul persists beneath the new.—
Christopher Elliott,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
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What to know about the Patriots-Texans game Despite three turnovers and Drake Maye fumbling four times, the Patriots held on to beat the Houston Texans, 28-16.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
18 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Meanwhile, California continued blowing money on a high-speed rail project that is years behind schedule and billions over budget, was bilked for billions in fraud, and funded an anti-homelessness bureaucracy with no accountability, among other things.—
Matt Fleming,
Oc Register,
26 Jan. 2026
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The idea is not only to speed up the time for AI systems to respond, but also to enable larger context windows, add quality checks on answers and keep AI features turned on for more users without blowing past budgets.—
Ron Schmelzer,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Elliott is accused of murdering retired FBI agent Owen Pollard, who was a partner in VanPoll firearms disposal.—
Oline H. Cogdill,
Sun Sentinel,
27 Jan. 2026
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In 2009, 22-year-old Amanda Knox was wrongfully convicted of murdering her roommate while studying abroad in Italy.—
Erin Lassner,
HollywoodReporter,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Bruce, my sincere apology for 40 years of mangling your songs in the car.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
11 Dec. 2025
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When Jets safety Malachi Moore went to tackle Hill, the wideout’s leg got caught underneath him, mangling the appendage in the process.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Critics claim Bock successfully shut down early scrutiny by dubbing it as racially motivated.—
Jonah Kaplan,
CBS News,
18 Dec. 2025
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The market’s ban on dubbing foreign films and generous 50-50 revenue-sharing structure with exhibitors have created an unusually direct producer-to-cinema distribution model, making traditional distributors largely irrelevant in the current ecosystem.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
30 Nov. 2025
Verb
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And, from this week’s issue, Nicola Twilley’s reporting on another lingering effect of the wildfires—smoke taint that is ruining grapes and threatening California’s wine industry.—
Dana Goodyear,
New Yorker,
7 Jan. 2026
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The video then shows the man asking if the situation was ruining Kaleel's Christmas.—
Jade Jackson,
IndyStar,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Modesto Fire Department Firefighters quickly contained and extinguished the fire, preventing it from destroying the home, officials said.—
Richard Ramos,
CBS News,
30 Jan. 2026
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By the way, the last scene of The Conversation has the paranoid Gene Hackman destroying his apartment in a desperate and futile search for listening devices.—
Rose Horowitch,
The Atlantic,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Butchering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/butchering. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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