1
as in inferno
a destructive burning
the holocaust caused by the ignited chemicals completely destroyed the factory and several surrounding homes
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in massacre
the killing of a large number of people
as many as 2,000,000 people may have perished in the holocaust perpetrated by Cambodia's Khmer Rouge
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of holocaust
Paul Hill, who was executed for gunning down a Florida clinic doctor and a volunteer in 1994, cited Bonhoeffer in viewing the attacks against clinics as a way of preventing a holocaust.
—
John Blake, CNN Money, 13 Apr. 2025
What may do us in isn’t a meteor, a nuclear holocaust or a superpandemic.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025
What may do us in isn’t a meteor, a nuclear holocaust or a superpandemic.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025
But in the two or three minutes since his initial departure, the fiery holocaust had somehow become even more deadly.
—Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for holocaust
John Blake, CNN Money, 13 Apr. 2025
What may do us in isn’t a meteor, a nuclear holocaust or a superpandemic.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025
What may do us in isn’t a meteor, a nuclear holocaust or a superpandemic.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025
But in the two or three minutes since his initial departure, the fiery holocaust had somehow become even more deadly.
—Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for holocaust
Recent Examples of Synonyms for holocaust
Noun
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Climate change is a major contributor, as drought and rising global temperatures make the infernos bigger, faster and harder to stop.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
3 July 2025
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And days before the Formula One Grand Prix in Jeddah in March 2022, the Houthi rebels fired a missile at an oil storage facility in the Saudi city and an inferno of fire and smoke filled the skyline.—
Dina Esfandiary,
Time,
1 July 2025
Noun
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Orlov also pointed her to Voit's location, leading to the hospital massacre and her abduction of Voit and Dr. Ochoa.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
10 July 2025
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The season traces the brutal machinery of empire: propaganda, collaborators, betrayal and the looming massacre of civilians on Ghorman, a peaceful planet crushed for daring to protest.—
Los Angeles Times Staff,
Los Angeles Times,
3 July 2025
Noun
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Donald Trump has ignited a five-alarm fire and the chaos has reached a fever pitch.—
Jeremy Gorner,
Chicago Tribune,
14 July 2025
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The most recent incarnation of the lodge had been operational since 1937, after a kitchen fire burned down the original in 1932.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
14 July 2025
Noun
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The first half begins in Poland, where seven-year-old Jakob Beer is the sole member of his Jewish family to survive the Nazis’ brutal slaughter.—
Mia Barzilay Freund,
Vogue,
7 July 2025
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Jess remembers her first on-farm slaughter years ago when a female spooked and tore through the woods.—
Bennet Goldstein,
jsonline.com,
4 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Holocaust.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/holocaust. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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