euthanize

verb

variants also euthanatize
Definition of euthanizenext
as in to assassinate

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 euthanize Then there was the New York Times bestselling author who cared for young animals only to have to euthanize them when the time came. — Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026 The relocation effort gained urgency after Marineland warned officials that it could be forced to euthanize the mammals if the export permits were not quickly approved. — Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026 In 2025, the Beyem Seyo pack killed nearly 100 cattle in about seven months in Plumas and Sierra counties, prompting wildlife officials to euthanize four wolves. — Scott Lebar. Story Produced With Ai Assistance, Sacbee.com, 15 July 2026 After applying the ointment or spray, the toad can be placed in a freezer for 24 hours to euthanize it. — Amaia Gavica, Miami Herald, 23 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for euthanize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for euthanize
  1. assassinate
  2. execute
  3. terminate
  4. slaughter
  5. put down
Verb
  • He was assassinated in Paris in February 1984, shot on a street outside his residence close to the Eiffel Tower.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Nearly sixty years later, King Philip—the Wampanoag leader who tried to fight the English Pilgrims—was assassinated on August 12, 1676.
    — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of assassinate
Verb
  • Hospital staff were working to save Pike's life and as of late Thursday were trying to clear the two doses of the drug that the state uses to execute prisoners, her lawyers wrote in a Friday filing in Davidson County Chancery Court.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Pike, who was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, was set to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years.
    — Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of execute
Verb
  • Once the stimulation was terminated, the effect rapidly reversed and repetitive behavior resumed.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Wilmington College said in a statement that Barker worked for a vendor and that the school’s relationship with the custodial services contractor has since been terminated.
    — Shayna Jacobs, NBC news, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of terminate
Verb
  • Already, in South Africa, an ostrich flock that survives bird flu would only be quarantined and rigorously tested for reinfection, not slaughtered.
    — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Every year, live chickens are confined and slaughtered at makeshift sites on Brooklyn streets and sidewalks.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of slaughter
Verb
  • That’s since Moida put down the stakes of its two-story flagship that boasts some 80 brands and 1,200 products on the Champs-Elysées.
    — Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The family relocated to Chicago in 1953 and put down roots in its Sephardic Jewish community, residing first in Hyde Park and then in West Rogers Park.
    — Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of put down

Browse Nearby Words

euthanasias
euthanize
euthanized
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Euthanize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/euthanize. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All