as in matricide
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Recent Examples of filicide
Each year in the United States there are nearly 500 arrests for filicide – which is the legal term for when parents kill their children – according to an analysis of FBI data by Forensic Science International.
—
Chelsea Bailey, CNN Money, 22 Apr. 2026
That number doesn't include the many filicides that end with parents taking their own lives.
—Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 21 Apr. 2026
Several generate physical action that, besides wickedness, is driven by rage — fights, accidents, assaults, pederasty, filicide, matricide.
—Stuart Dybek, New York Times, 10 Feb. 2025
One study of maternal filicide observed that, whereas psychotic mothers often acted suddenly, depressed mothers tended to contemplate killing their children for days or weeks before acting.
—Eren Orbey, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024
Each was a tragedy, but maternal filicide falls low on the register of reasons for infant death.
—Maria Laurino, The New Republic, 29 June 2023
In Massachusetts, a horrific case of filicide has reawakened difficult talks about postpartum mood and anxiety disorders, which are known to be under-diagnosed and under-treated in women who recently gave birth.
—Andrea Marks, Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2023
Chelsea Bailey, CNN Money, 22 Apr. 2026
That number doesn't include the many filicides that end with parents taking their own lives.
—Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 21 Apr. 2026
Several generate physical action that, besides wickedness, is driven by rage — fights, accidents, assaults, pederasty, filicide, matricide.
—Stuart Dybek, New York Times, 10 Feb. 2025
One study of maternal filicide observed that, whereas psychotic mothers often acted suddenly, depressed mothers tended to contemplate killing their children for days or weeks before acting.
—Eren Orbey, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024
Each was a tragedy, but maternal filicide falls low on the register of reasons for infant death.
—Maria Laurino, The New Republic, 29 June 2023
In Massachusetts, a horrific case of filicide has reawakened difficult talks about postpartum mood and anxiety disorders, which are known to be under-diagnosed and under-treated in women who recently gave birth.
—Andrea Marks, Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for filicide
Noun
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At the center of the installation is the myth of Orestes, which hinges on the justification of matricide.—
Eana Kim,
ARTnews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
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According to a new study published in Current Biology on Monday, Nov. 17, several species of parasitic ants have evolved a way to manipulate worker ants into killing their own queen — a form of matricide that biologists say has never been observed in this exact form.—
Moná Thomas,
PEOPLE,
27 Nov. 2025
Noun
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This is what's known as a parricide, where somebody kills their parents.—
Lori A Bashian , Larry Fink,
FOXNews.com,
5 Jan. 2026
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The double killing of one's parents, known as parricide, is a rare event, according to Dr. Kathleen Heide, Ph.D., professor of criminology at the University of South Florida and author of Why Kids Kill Parents: Child Abuse and Adolescent Homicide.—
Gillian Telling,
PEOPLE,
23 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Walt had long described himself as a benevolent father to his workers, and the strike seemed an act of personal betrayal and disloyalty verging on patricide.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Apr. 2026
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The second season’s focus on the Menendez brothers’ patricide is loud, confrontational, and approaches the case from multiple perspectives at once, which can either come across as daring or incoherent.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
24 May 2025
Noun
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But Iran did little to stop the fratricide.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
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But what is absolutely clear to me right now is that this Israeli government is committing suicide, homicide and fratricide.—
Thomas L. Friedman,
Mercury News,
28 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The radical shifts in France — regicide, the Committee of Public Safety’s terror, and expansionist campaigns — dissolved the moral and practical basis for the alliance.—
Daniel Ross Goodman,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Jan. 2026
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With examples drawn from Scripture and across the length of history, Paine commits rhetorical regicide.—
Matthew Redmond
August 13,
Literary Hub,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Jaclyn Skuce, 43, of Madison, was convicted of capital murder after hiring a man to kill the child’s father in order to prevent him from gaining custody or further visitation, the Morgan County District Attorney’s Office said.—
Michael Sinkewicz,
FOXNews.com,
10 May 2026
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No remains were uncovered, but a month later, both Flores men were arrested and charged in connection with Smart’s murder.—
Richard Winton,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2026
Noun
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Stepheny Price is a Writer at Fox News with a focus on West Coast and Midwest news, missing persons, national and international crime stories, homicide cases, and border security.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
12 May 2026
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The San Diego County medical examiner’s office ruled his cause of death to be asphyxia and classified the manner as a homicide.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Filicide.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/filicide. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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