as in patricide
the crime of purposefully ending the life of your own brother or sister
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Recent Examples of fratricide
Here, Hamlet is a melancholy suburban prince named Juicy, in a Black family rocked by betrayal and fratricide and ghosts who pop out of backyard grills.
—
Chris Richards, Washington Post, 19 Oct. 2023
The problem with the plan was fratricide, among other wanton cellular murders.
—Jason Mast, STAT, 31 Aug. 2023
The Type-1a supernovae don’t come from solitary stars sitting around waiting to die, but from a case of pure stellar fratricide.
—Popular Mechanics, 18 Apr. 2023
Rumors of Njinga committing fratricide or engaging in cannibalism are treated with similar caution.
—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for fratricide
Chris Richards, Washington Post, 19 Oct. 2023
The problem with the plan was fratricide, among other wanton cellular murders.
—Jason Mast, STAT, 31 Aug. 2023
The Type-1a supernovae don’t come from solitary stars sitting around waiting to die, but from a case of pure stellar fratricide.
—Popular Mechanics, 18 Apr. 2023
Rumors of Njinga committing fratricide or engaging in cannibalism are treated with similar caution.
—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for fratricide
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fratricide
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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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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In the illuminated texts of the medieval and early Renaissance periods, artists decided to rachet up the horrors of Agrippina’s matricide.—
Diana Arterian
June 16,
Literary Hub,
16 June 2025
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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
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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Ernest attempts to identify which of the hostages is guilty of the murder and the attempted heist.—
Sandra Dallas,
Denver Post,
19 Apr. 2026
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Two men were found guilty Saturday night in the murder of a Highland Park man, who was beaten to death in a 2022 fight along the Lake Michigan shoreline.—
Clifford Ward,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
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
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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
Noun
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Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department detectives have launched a homicide investigation after a man's body was found in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant early Monday morning.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
21 Apr. 2026
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Some involve unsolved homicides, while others are missing persons cases with no signs of foul play.—
Natasha Chen,
CNN Money,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fratricide.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fratricide. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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