as in brutal
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others
Genghis Khan and his butcherly horde even massacred the livestock of the villages they overran
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for butcherly
Adjective
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Lori survives the brutal events of prom night, but not without a fight.—
Jane LaCroix,
People.com,
24 May 2025 -
Amid the brutal cuts across the federal government under the Trump administration, perhaps one of the most gutting is the loss of experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who respond to lead poisoning in children.—
John Timmer,
ArsTechnica,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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Scheifele’s emotional and inspirational decision to play mere hours after his father’s unexpected death — to play for his dad, to play because of his dad — ended in cruel fashion, with Scheifele helpless in the penalty box.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
18 May 2025
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At first the program seems to be benign, but Hayakawa’s film steadily reveals how the policy thrives on the cruel capitalist tenet that people are disposable.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2025
Adjective
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The original 2006 film, which was adapted from Lauren Weisberger’s book of the same name, starred Meryl Streep as the powerful Miranda Priestley, Anne Hathaway as fashion newbie Andy Sachs, Emily Blunt as vicious assistant Emily and Stanley Tucci as Miranda’s right hand man Nigel.—
Rachel McRady,
People.com,
23 May 2025
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Wolves are vicious and intelligent group hunters, but dogs and thunderstorms famously do not mix.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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As savage Arctic cold was getting ready to surge south across North America, vivid imagery based on data from weather models showed us what was going to happen.—
Tom Yulsman,
Discover Magazine,
27 Dec. 2022
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The 2023 grand marshal is former Arizona Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords, gravely wounded in a savage mass shooting in 2011 that also killed six people.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Dec. 2022
Adjective
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Wes Anderson is talking about a surreal moment that occurs early in his latest film, The Phoenician Scheme, in which the protagonist, the ruthless international tycoon Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro), experiences a vision of the afterlife.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
18 May 2025
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Ralph Fiennes will play the ruthless Panem dictator in director Francis Lawrence‘s forthcoming film in the franchise, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Butcherly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/butcherly. Accessed 27 May. 2025.
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