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
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for butchering
Verb
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One thinks of the hundred brothers that Donald Antrim imagined, gathering in the ancestral home to honor their father’s memory and ritually slaughtering one of their own.—
Christine Smallwood,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
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Before openly slaughtering thousands of protesters last month, Iran’s leaders had rejected chance after chance to improve the lives of their own people.—
Bloomberg Opinion,
Twin Cities,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Nothing erodes confidence faster than fumbling for lockboxes, waiting on unresponsive listing agents, or showing a space that clearly doesn’t fit.—
Allen Buchanan,
Oc Register,
28 Mar. 2026
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Last season’s Detroit Tigers endured the worst divisional collapse in history, fumbling an AL Central lead that reached 15 1/2 games in July.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Try to find a place that will block blowing or falling debris.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
31 Mar. 2026
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The Field of 68 pointed out that each of Duke's last four NCAA Tournament losses came by blowing a double-digit lead.—
Megan Armstrong,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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What happened Israel’s parliament on Monday gave final approval to legislation that makes death by hanging the default punishment for West Bank Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis.—
Peter Weber,
TheWeek,
31 Mar. 2026
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Israel’s parliament approved death penalty by hanging for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis, making capital punishment the default sentence in military courts.—
Julia Frankel,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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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?—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
12 Mar. 2026
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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
Verb
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Deadline revealed details of the changes last year, with executives dubbing the plan Project Ada.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
26 Mar. 2026
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Younger audiences, already accustomed to subtitles and dubbing through the global rise of K-pop, anime and other international media, proved especially receptive.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Accused of ruining baseball with their big-spending ways the past two years, the noise has only gotten louder as a labor showdown looms.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
29 Mar. 2026
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To figure out its mechanism, Julius’s team had to somehow extract it from cells without ruining the very properties the researchers were trying to understand.—
Jacek Krywko,
Scientific American,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The Pentagon has generally lumped it into the first objective of destroying Iran’s missile capability.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Mar. 2026
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But there may be an answer, or at least a compromise that will satisfy those unhappy with the idea of destroying a usable building.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Butchering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/butchering. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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