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noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word dispatch distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of dispatch are assassinate, execute, kill, murder, and slay. While all these words mean "to deprive of life," dispatch stresses quickness and directness in putting to death.

dispatched the sentry with one bullet

When might assassinate be a better fit than dispatch?

While the synonyms assassinate and dispatch are close in meaning, assassinate applies to deliberate killing openly or secretly often for political motives.

terrorists assassinated the Senator

When could execute be used to replace dispatch?

The synonyms execute and dispatch are sometimes interchangeable, but execute stresses putting to death as a legal penalty.

executed by lethal gas

Where would kill be a reasonable alternative to dispatch?

In some situations, the words kill and dispatch are roughly equivalent. However, kill merely states the fact of death caused by an agency in any manner.

killed in an accident
frost killed the plants

When is it sensible to use murder instead of dispatch?

The words murder and dispatch are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, murder specifically implies stealth and motive and premeditation and therefore full moral responsibility.

convicted of murdering a rival

When is slay a more appropriate choice than dispatch?

The meanings of slay and dispatch largely overlap; however, slay is a chiefly literary term implying deliberateness and violence but not necessarily motive.

slew thousands of the Philistines

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 dispatch
Verb
Xi was dispatched into the political wilderness for 16 years. Joseph Torigian, Foreign Affairs, 23 June 2025 The port, which bypasses the Strait, has the capability to dispatch close to 75% of the UAE’s total crude output if needed. Gaurav Sharma, Forbes.com, 22 June 2025
Noun
Optimizing the dispatch process is also suited for AI. Stuart MacKinnon, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025 North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday that Kim confirmed the contents of North Korea's cooperation with Russia with regard to Kursk's current situation but didn't mention the dispatch of army construction workers and deminers cited by Russian media. Arkansas Online, 19 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for dispatch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dispatch
Verb
  • He’s expected to appear at the Ada County Courthouse on Wednesday at 11 a.m. for a change of plea hearing, according to the letter sent to the families.
    Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 1 July 2025
  • Carter claims Buzbee sent him two demand letters in early November to squeeze him for money.
    Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 1 July 2025
Verb
  • One Cambodian soldier was killed in a relatively small, contested area.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 29 June 2025
  • Gaza’s Health Ministry on Sunday said that another 88 people have been killed by Israeli fire over the past 24 hours, raising the war’s toll among Palestinians to 56,500.
    Tia Goldenberg, Chicago Tribune, 29 June 2025
Verb
  • Israeli intelligence also probed the possibility of assassinating Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but President Donald Trump reportedly called off a hit on the Iranian supreme leader.
    Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 28 June 2025
  • The daughter of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been accused of corruption, misusing public funds, and threatening to assassinate former ally and current president Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
    Cecilia Hult, Fortune, 28 June 2025
Verb
  • The Italian became the first man or woman from her country to defeat a top-3 seed at Wimbledon since the Open Era began in 1968.
    Adam Zagoria, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025
  • Unlike other characters that need to jump on enemies to defeat them, DK can throw an endless stream of haymaker punches in all directions and can even rip chunks of rock and the ground itself out to throw with precision.
    Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 1 July 2025
Noun
  • Among the signatories of the letters were two Politicians sanctioned by China for their advocacy on the situation of human rights in China and Hong Kong - Lord Alton of Liverpool and Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws LT KC, and the last Governor of Hong Kong - the Rt Hon.
    Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
  • At the June 27 news conference, Trump said his administration would soon send out letters to U.S. trading partners informing them of their tariff rate.
    Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 28 June 2025
Noun
  • For me, that’s a very important message, and hopefully that’s the legacy.
    Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 29 June 2025
  • Always: Verify the person's identity through multiple channels; don't rely solely on their social media profiles, messages or emails.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 29 June 2025
Verb
  • In September 2024, the same month as the pager attack and assassination of Hezbollah’s leader, Israel launched the most extensive campaign of airstrikes in the air force’s history hitherto, destroying much of Hezbollah’s strategic surface-to-surface missile stockpiles.
    Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • Grossi acknowledged that some of the uranium already enriched by Iranian scientists could have been destroyed as part of the attack.
    John Bacon, USA Today, 30 June 2025
Verb
  • Set in a fantasy version of early 1900s Japan, the series focuses on the adventures Tanjiro Kamado, an ordinary boy whose peaceful life in the mountains is disrupted when demons murder his family.
    Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 28 June 2025
  • Harp, who is raising his orphaned niece, Dell, after her mother is murdered, never reminisces with Dell about his sister; the Antidote and Cleo both do their best not to have meaningful conversations with anyone at all.
    Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 27 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Dispatch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dispatch. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.

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