BUTCHERS Synonyms: 102 Similar and Opposite Words

butchers 1 of 2

noun

plural of butcher

as in blunderers

someone who bungles an effort the newest intern on the campaign is a butcher when it comes to writing press releases

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

butchers

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of butcher

as in slaughters

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in fumbles

to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way the new piano student butchered the sonatina

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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 butchers

Noun

Independent butchers are rare these days, as chain grocery stores with in-house butchers have become more prevalent. —

Emily M. Olson, Hartford Courant, 12 June 2026 Brown butchers then salts the chickens overnight, and marinates them in a mixture of ancho and puya chiles, garlic and chipotle. —

Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026 From all directions at once, the butchers were crushing toward the exits, holding their boning knives and cleavers aloft. —

Literary Hub, 3 June 2026 The local cheesemonger, the corner coffee shop, the butchers, the bakers, the wine merchants—they're all within arm’s reach. —

Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 May 2026 As the operation grows across the city-wide black market, their ambitions clash with corrupt authorities, rival butchers and a shifting political landscape, pushing the family toward dangerous alliances and violent consequences. —

John Hopewell, Variety, 19 Apr. 2026 Anthrax underfoot Most cases of human anthrax result from working with animals – an occupational hazard for tanners, wool sorters and butchers. —

Hannah Kinzer, The Conversation, 25 Mar. 2026 Buchsbaum described a mid-20th-century American Jewish landscape in which nearly every community had kosher butchers and caterers because even many non-Orthodox families expected bar mitzvahs, weddings and other celebrations to be kosher. —

Asaf Elia-Shalev, Sun Sentinel, 23 Mar. 2026 Not all fast-food cheeseburgers are created equal, according to award-winning butchers who work with quality beef every day. —

Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 13 Mar. 2026

Verb

Stanley Tucci is back as Nigel, Miranda’s unfailingly loyal consigliere, who never butchers a bon mot or wears the same pocket square twice. —

Justin Chang, New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2026 The face of the already iconic series is the enigmatic Art the Clown, a demonic serial killer who butchers the inhabitants of the fictitious Miles County, New York. —

Simon Thompson, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for butchers

Verb

This makes the Legion Tower a fine set-it-and-forget-it PC gaming rig that fumbles on upgradability, which many PC gamers find crucial.

— PC Magazine, PC Magazine, 29 Oct. 2025
The premise has the potential for slapstick silliness, as an incompetent Seoul family fumbles its way through opening a hunting lodge in the Korean countryside.

— Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2025