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Definition of killnext
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as in to dismiss
to reject by or as if by a vote the Senate killed the bill by a single vote

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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kill

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word kill distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of kill are assassinate, dispatch, execute, murder, and slay. While all these words mean "to deprive of life," kill merely states the fact of death caused by an agency in any manner.

killed in an accident
frost killed the plants

In what contexts can assassinate take the place of kill?

While in some cases nearly identical to kill, assassinate applies to deliberate killing openly or secretly often for political motives.

terrorists assassinated the Senator

When would dispatch be a good substitute for kill?

While the synonyms dispatch and kill are close in meaning, dispatch stresses quickness and directness in putting to death.

dispatched the sentry with one bullet

When is it sensible to use execute instead of kill?

The meanings of execute and kill largely overlap; however, execute stresses putting to death as a legal penalty.

executed by lethal gas

Where would murder be a reasonable alternative to kill?

The synonyms murder and kill are sometimes interchangeable, but murder specifically implies stealth and motive and premeditation and therefore full moral responsibility.

convicted of murdering a rival

When might slay be a better fit than kill?

In some situations, the words slay and kill are roughly equivalent. However, slay is a chiefly literary term implying deliberateness and violence but not necessarily motive.

slew thousands of the Philistines

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of kill
Verb
The Sacramento Police Department said officers shot and killed a suspect while responding to a bank robbery on Thursday afternoon. Richard Ramos, CBS News, 30 Jan. 2026 The lawsuit Reilly filed alleges that police were contacted by staff at Midstate Medical Center and told of Mollow’s statements about wanting to kill Ashworth. Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 30 Jan. 2026
Noun
In noncompliance records from 2023 reviewed by The Times, Manning Beef was accused of multiple instances of a leaky ceiling, separate instances of live insects on the kill floor, unsanitary conditions and operational malfunctions. Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2026 Telemetry data from the exercise confirmed the outcome as a successful kill. Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 27 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for kill
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kill
Verb
  • But when a man from Anne’s past returns from war, a curse begins to take shape through a mysterious knight and threatens to destroy them all.
    Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 1 Feb. 2026
  • Plenty of plants were destroyed in the Eaton and Palisades fires, of course, especially highly flammable shrubs like tall, skinny arborvitae.
    Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • However, a White House official dismissed speculation.
    Jeff Cox, CNBC, 30 Jan. 2026
  • Continue reading … LEGAL LOOPHOLE – Luigi Mangione returns to court as judge weighs defense motion to dismiss death penalty charge.
    , FOXNews.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • During the episode, Kardashian opened up about that infamous photo with Meghan Markle from her mother's 70th birthday that was deleted from her Instagram.
    Meg Walters, InStyle, 31 Jan. 2026
  • Police may not delete your footage or view it without a warrant.
    Josh Kelly, Oklahoman, 30 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Adding onto the wear-and-tear element was that Monday’s game was a back-to-back, one caused by Saturday’s matchup being postponed to Sunday after a federal immigration agent shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday morning.
    Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 27 Jan. 2026
  • The suspect is described as a man about six feet tall, wearing a black hoodie and black pants.
    Anna McAllister, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • But commenters were also fascinated by a series of colorful graphs plotting dose-response curves for individual types of exercise, purporting to show that walking is the best, jogging is good but not too much, swimming is no good at all, and so on.
    Alex Hutchinson, Outside, 30 Jan. 2026
  • Though the Durutti Column had been a disaster, Wilson was fascinated by the guitarist, who admired punk’s willfulness even though his own musical taste tended toward jazz, blues, and the classical tradition.
    Brad Shoup, Pitchfork, 24 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Once stationary, deactivate all lights except the hazard flashers, engage the emergency brake, and release the brake pedal to ensure your tail lights are not illuminated, reducing the risk of other drivers colliding with your stationary vehicle.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Once stationary, deactivate all lights except the hazard flashers, engage the emergency brake, and release the brake pedal to ensure your tail lights remain unlit, minimizing the chance of other drivers colliding with your stationary vehicle.
    Bay Area Weather Report, Mercury News, 23 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Lawmakers complained when the Justice Department made only a limited release last month, but officials said more time was needed to review an additional trove of documents that was discovered and to scour the records to ensure no sensitive information about victims was inadvertently released.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 31 Jan. 2026
  • In the car, when Irvin briefly turned his attention away from the victim, the man reached for his own gun and shot Irvin three times in the head.
    Sam Charles, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • In addition, these races start (on average) at 7500 feet elevation (a mile and a half high) which means less oxygen to handle all that stress.
    Tim Genske, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
  • Getting five points in the final 128 seconds from a freshman backup who was thrust into a starting role, Aliso Niguel maintained a chokehold on the league title race with a 61-60 victory at Beckman on Monday.
    Martin Henderson, Oc Register, 27 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Kill.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kill. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.

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