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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of holocaust
Hours earlier, two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah by the Sea celebration near Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, killing at least 16 people including a rabbi and a holocaust survivor.
—
Hannah Ruhoff, Sacbee.com, 15 Dec. 2025
But the graphic visions of nuclear holocaust in those films conjured no more dread than the explosion of the Death Star.
—Literary Hub, 17 Nov. 2025
In his director’s statement, the filmmaker reveals that the historical drama mines from his own family’s trauma, linking the effects that both the holocaust and the rise in communism in Hungary had on him and his loved ones.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 25 Aug. 2025
In the holocaust of the South Bronx, lighting a match could seem like just hastening the inevitable.
—Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for holocaust
Hannah Ruhoff, Sacbee.com, 15 Dec. 2025
But the graphic visions of nuclear holocaust in those films conjured no more dread than the explosion of the Death Star.
—Literary Hub, 17 Nov. 2025
In his director’s statement, the filmmaker reveals that the historical drama mines from his own family’s trauma, linking the effects that both the holocaust and the rise in communism in Hungary had on him and his loved ones.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 25 Aug. 2025
In the holocaust of the South Bronx, lighting a match could seem like just hastening the inevitable.
—Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for holocaust
Recent Examples of Synonyms for holocaust
Noun
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More than 270 firefighters and EMS personnel responded to combat the inferno.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
11 Mar. 2026
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Police spokesperson Frederic Papaux of Fribourg canton, or region, said the inferno broke out Tuesday evening on a bus in the town of Kerzers, about 15 miles west of Bern, the Swiss capital.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, a survivor of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, said in a statement that the Michigan attack demonstrates yet again the consequences of hatred.—
Corey Williams,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2026
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Staff flagged a sign that features a photograph of Colonel John Chivington, a Methodist pastor and Army officer known for leading the 1864 Sand Creek massacre.—
Madison Dapcevich,
Outside,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Jacob Ulibarri spent about six hours on New Year’s Day last year squashing hot spots where the Lachman fire had burned.—
Alene Tchekmedyian,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Mar. 2026
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Images from the site showed the charred shell of the bus after the fire was brought under control.—
Claire Carter,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Now after four years of ongoing horrors in Ukraine, and more than two years of watching slaughter and suffering in Gaza, the latest war filling our feeds is just another numbing form of content, a digital arena in which competing forces try to assert conflicting viewpoints.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
11 Mar. 2026
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There’s enough poetic irony there to land the billionaire slaughter in the middle of the list.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Holocaust.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/holocaust. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.
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