1
as in slaughtering
to kill on a large scale
the barbarians butchered the monks in the monasteries without mercy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Normally, that involves making stone tools, butchering deer, or distilling birch tar.
—
ArsTechnica,
2 June 2026
Newmark warns that the pig-butchering problem is likely to get worse thanks to AI.
—
Rob Pegoraro,
PC Magazine,
1 June 2026
People began losing touch with butchering an entire animal, as well as with preparation methods for organ meats.
—
Teresa Mull,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
ProPublica has chronicled the dark world of pig butchering, in which human traffickers in Asia force their victims to scam people by posing as friends or potential romantic interests.
—
Robert Faturechi,
ProPublica,
11 Apr. 2026
While pig butchering operations are veering toward the sophisticated and professional, horrendous abuses persist.
—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
7 Apr. 2026
By butchering the fish in the restaurant, Hanke reduces the amount of time in which the quality of the fish could deteriorate.
—
Lucia Cheng,
Des Moines Register,
25 Mar. 2026
At first, the recruits wonder if this is all part of the big test, though when the machine starts butchering them, the sole survivors realise that something else is up.
—
Sergio Pereira,
Space.com,
11 Mar. 2026
For nearly half a century, Iran has been a thorn in the side of the United States, killing and maiming American soldiers, butchering Israeli citizens, threatening its neighbors and fostering terror around the globe.
—
Chris Roemer,
Baltimore Sun,
5 Mar. 2026
ArsTechnica,
2 June 2026
Newmark warns that the pig-butchering problem is likely to get worse thanks to AI.
—
Rob Pegoraro,
PC Magazine,
1 June 2026
People began losing touch with butchering an entire animal, as well as with preparation methods for organ meats.
—
Teresa Mull,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
ProPublica has chronicled the dark world of pig butchering, in which human traffickers in Asia force their victims to scam people by posing as friends or potential romantic interests.
—
Robert Faturechi,
ProPublica,
11 Apr. 2026
While pig butchering operations are veering toward the sophisticated and professional, horrendous abuses persist.
—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
7 Apr. 2026
By butchering the fish in the restaurant, Hanke reduces the amount of time in which the quality of the fish could deteriorate.
—
Lucia Cheng,
Des Moines Register,
25 Mar. 2026
At first, the recruits wonder if this is all part of the big test, though when the machine starts butchering them, the sole survivors realise that something else is up.
—
Sergio Pereira,
Space.com,
11 Mar. 2026
For nearly half a century, Iran has been a thorn in the side of the United States, killing and maiming American soldiers, butchering Israeli citizens, threatening its neighbors and fostering terror around the globe.
—
Chris Roemer,
Baltimore Sun,
5 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for butchering
Verb
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Disease had significantly weakened Tenochtitlán’s ability to withstand Cortés’s siege, and the Europeans eventually wore the Aztec warriors down and broke through the city’s defenses, slaughtering the Aztecs and destroying the city.
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Later on, plundering Barbary pirates raided Mallorca, looting possessions, slaughtering inhabitants and capturing others for the slave trade.
Verb
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My first few hours with the EM11 NL were marked by overshooting links, fumbling through simple selections, and occasionally wondering why anyone would voluntarily use a vertical mouse.
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Bennett is concerned, for instance, that Hong could win her primary and then be defeated in November by Republican Tom Tiffany, fumbling the governorship of a swing state into the hands of a far-right Freedom Caucus member who dabbled in 2020 election conspiracy theories.
Verb
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The Detroit Tigers are blowing a golden opportunity.
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The Sox bullpen didn’t perform any better on Sunday, blowing leads in the ninth and 10th innings of a 5-4 loss to get swept in Detroit and finish 1-5 on the road trip.
Verb
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The ruling handed down on Tuesday affirmed the judgment of a May 2025 hearing presided over by Cuyahoga County judge Nancy Margaret Russo, the same judge who found Shirilla guilty of murdering her boyfriend, Dominic Russo (no relation) and their friend, Davion Flanagan, in a 2022 car crash.
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Sam Worthington leads the series as David Burroughs, a father serving a life sentence for murdering his own son five years ago.
Verb
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Blade grinders function more like blenders, frantically whirring in circles, mangling the beans, and tossing them all over the grinding chamber.
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Where was Michael Hill, the commissioner’s office executive serving as Team USA’s general manager, while his manager was mangling the stakes of the situation?
Verb
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The set is selling quickly, with Wayfair dubbing it a popular product.
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Those efforts went beyond dubbing audio in different languages to include adapting jokes and other details in the script.
Verb
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The Cowboys are like most NFL teams that roll out a synthetic surface that has a grass feel, and is vastly superior to the old knee-ruining ways of AstroTurf.
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The Dodgers are ruining baseball!
Verb
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That second blaze burned charred 23,500 acres in that community, Malibu and elsewhere, killing 12 people and destroying or damaging more than 7,500 homes and businesses.
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These kinds of old negatives are often stored inside cans and are so fragile they can’t be unrolled without destroying them, Seales says.
Cite this Entry
“Butchering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/butchering. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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