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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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
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When Joe is implicated in financial misdeeds connected to land deals conducted on the tribe’s behalf, Mack seizes upon the news to banish Joe from the reservation, a symbolic patricide also intended to damage Gloria’s campaign.—
Christopher Sorrentino,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Pancakes and parricide, anyone?—
Joanna O'Leary,
Chron,
24 Jan. 2021
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The Willoughbys Rated PG for sugarcoated parricide.—
Natalia Winkelman,
New York Times,
22 Apr. 2020
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
-
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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With examples drawn from Scripture and across the length of history, Paine commits rhetorical regicide.—
Matthew Redmond
August 13,
Literary Hub,
13 Aug. 2025
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The raw power grab that excites Lady Macbeth and incites her husband to regicide feels especially pertinent now, when the dangers of autocracy loom over political discussions.—
Peter Marks,
Washington Post,
28 Mar. 2024
Noun
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The original wording suggesting that Soliman faced murder charges in Iraq had been included in the government’s successful argument for keeping him in custody.—
Hannah Allam,
ProPublica,
10 Sep. 2025
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An argument over a wristwatch led to the fatal shooting of a 21-year-old Dallas mother at Malibu Jack’s amusement park in North Richland Hills, according to new details of the murder investigation released on Tuesday.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 Sep. 2025
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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Johnson’s dishonesty doesn’t even take into consideration the carnage from the homicides of yesteryear in the Windy City.—
Christopher Tremoglie,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
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He was convicted in October 2022 on six counts first-degree intentional homicide, 61 counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, six counts of hit and run involving death and two counts of bail jumping, all felonies, plus one count of misdemeanor battery.—
Jim Riccioli,
jsonline.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fratricide.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fratricide. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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