BUTCHERING Synonyms: 82 Similar and Opposite Words

butchering

verb

present participle of butcher

as in slaughtering

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

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 butchering The theory is that individuals became infected by a strain that was particularly lethal to the young through close contact with marmots (rodents that are known reservoirs of the plague), perhaps while butchering them. — The Week Uk, TheWeek, 6 July 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for butchering

Verb

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.

— Jordana Rosenfeld, Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 June 2026
Later on, plundering Barbary pirates raided Mallorca, looting possessions, slaughtering inhabitants and capturing others for the slave trade.

— Norma Meyer, Oc Register, 27 May 2026

Definition of slaughtering

Verb

With Yerry De los Santos also fumbling a bunt in the eighth, the Yanks tallied a season-high four errors on the night.

— Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 26 June 2026
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.

— Sascha Brodsky, PC Magazine, 21 June 2026

Definition of fumbling

Verb

Try to find a place that will block blowing or falling debris.

— CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 16 July 2026
The ripe salt-sea smell, raw and delicious and foul, that rose up from the platform and haunted the marsh for miles around, was today tamped down by the freshwater air blowing down from the north.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 July 2026

Definition of blowing

Verb

Patty Gifford's late mother, Barbara Ryan, sobbed in court when Sochor was found guilty of murdering her daughter, according to the Sun Sentinel.

— Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 15 July 2026
She was eventually charged with murdering nine people, including several of her tenants.

— Selome Hailu, Variety, 7 July 2026

Definition of murdering

Verb

Blade grinders function more like blenders, frantically whirring in circles, mangling the beans, and tossing them all over the grinding chamber.

— Noah Kaufman, Bon Appetit Magazine, 20 May 2026
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?

— Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 12 Mar. 2026

Definition of mangling

Verb

Plus, one of the biggest things that holds people back from DIY is a fear of ruining their home, but that’s virtually impossible with peel-and-stick wallpaper.

— Ashley Chalmers, The Spruce, 13 July 2026
Clothes moths are indoor pests notorious for ruining the best threads in any closet.

— Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 July 2026

Definition of ruining

Verb

After flying toward a naval target over the Black Sea, the aircraft launched one of the supersonic missiles from a stand-off distance exceeding 120 kilometers, successfully destroying its target.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 14 July 2026
Los Angeles Fire Department arson investigators are probing a destructive fire that ripped through a Sun Valley strip mall early Sunday morning, destroying a beloved family-run market.

— Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 14 July 2026

Definition of destroying

Browse Nearby Words

butcheries

butchering

butcherly

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“Butchering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/butchering. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of butchering

verb

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