as in slaughter
the killing of a large number of people
butchery on a scale that horrified the civilized world
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Recent Examples of butchery
The event will be hosted by Caitlin and Tom Moriarty at Moriarty Meats, who will be providing regional specialty sandwiches—boeuf on weck—to fuel us through an evening of live butchery demonstration, an author Q&A, and book signing.
—
Chloe Sorvino, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Of the remains, 222 had color changes that are associated with cremation, while 69 of those bones had signs of butchery likely performed after death.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 7 Aug. 2025
Yet, instead of protesting in the streets condemning Hamas’ sadistic butchery and demanding the terror group release its hostages and leave the Gaza Strip so that the Palestinian people may crawl out from beneath its rancid thumb, the American left focuses its ire on Israel instead.
—Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 7 Aug. 2025
The skulls bore butchery marks, hinting at a feast; however, the real mystery was their origin.
—Pranjal Malewar, New Atlas, 29 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for butchery
Chloe Sorvino, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Of the remains, 222 had color changes that are associated with cremation, while 69 of those bones had signs of butchery likely performed after death.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 7 Aug. 2025
Yet, instead of protesting in the streets condemning Hamas’ sadistic butchery and demanding the terror group release its hostages and leave the Gaza Strip so that the Palestinian people may crawl out from beneath its rancid thumb, the American left focuses its ire on Israel instead.
—Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 7 Aug. 2025
The skulls bore butchery marks, hinting at a feast; however, the real mystery was their origin.
—Pranjal Malewar, New Atlas, 29 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for butchery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for butchery
Noun
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The horses would be prohibited from being sold for slaughter or for carriage business elsewhere.—
Brie Stimson,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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Such was slaughter that blood could be seen in sand next to piles of bodies in satellite images from space, according to the Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health.—
Abigail Williams,
NBC news,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The horrifying reports of the massacre of hundreds of Sudanese civilians after the Darfur city of El Fasher was captured by the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) last week were the latest chapter in a brutal conflict that has killed more than 150,000 people over the past two and a half years.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
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The first of the previous massacres in Darfur occurred in the town of El Geneina, in April, 2023; fifteen thousand unarmed civilians were killed.—
Nicolas Niarchos,
New Yorker,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Butchery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/butchery. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.
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