as in slaughter
the killing of a large number of people
butchery on a scale that horrified the civilized world
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 butchery
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
That’s based on comparisons to what bones look like when modern hunter-gatherers butcher their game, along with archaeologists’ experiments with stone tool butchery.
—ArsTechnica, 18 July 2025
Neanderthals at Amud, meanwhile, might have done the butchery of these creatures elsewhere.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for butchery
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
That’s based on comparisons to what bones look like when modern hunter-gatherers butcher their game, along with archaeologists’ experiments with stone tool butchery.
—ArsTechnica, 18 July 2025
Neanderthals at Amud, meanwhile, might have done the butchery of these creatures elsewhere.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for butchery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for butchery
Noun
-
Matt Jones and Christina Long discuss whats next for Arkansas football after the Notre Dame slaughter on Saturday.—
Christina Long,
Arkansas Online,
29 Sep. 2025
-
The 1994 slaughter of 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda became the paradigmatic example, prosecuted at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and recognized by the UN Security Council.—
Faisal Kutty,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The university also produced John Morse, a former Colorado senate president who earned national attention for his leadership in passing gun control legislation following the Aurora theater shooting and Sandy Hook massacre.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
3 Oct. 2025
-
On the day of the massacre, the shooter opened and walked through the west door with no hindrance, though it had been pulled shut by a teacher.—
Matthew J. Friedman,
CNN Money,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Butchery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/butchery. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share