kill 1 of 2

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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
Strong and battle-hardened with a white scar down his back, he’s grown up getting mocked for flubbing a kill shot to the heart. Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2025 During both segments of the season, game crews visited each kill site to col lect stomach samples and reproductive data from the internal organs of the animals. Jack O'Connor, Outdoor Life, 26 June 2025
Noun
At least 15 people were killed including, two nuns. Jacqueline Charles july 11, Miami Herald, 11 July 2025 The legislation didn’t kill Biden-era tax credits for manufacturers, as some had feared. Aarian Marshall, Wired News, 11 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for kill
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kill
Verb
  • Grand Canyon Lodge North Rim wildfire: National Park Service says only hotel destroyed The Grand Canyon Lodge was the park's only hotel, according the National Park Service, with the next nearest lodgings roughly 18 miles away.
    John Tufts, IndyStar, 14 July 2025
  • The lawsuit alleges that Merit Street’s business partner, Trinity Broadcasting of Fort Worth, destroyed its television network and forced the bankruptcy declaration.
    Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 July 2025
Verb
  • They have since been dismissed by the local solicitor general's office, WSB-TV reported.
    Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 12 July 2025
  • So far, nearly 60,000 federal employees have been dismissed, with the State Department layoffs marking the latest round of cuts.
    Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 July 2025
Verb
  • Megan later deleted the clip, but the video had already made its rounds online.
    Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 14 July 2025
  • In a scathing rant on X (which has since been deleted), Musk criticized the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein records.
    Meredith Kile, People.com, 14 July 2025
Verb
  • The deceased woman was also wearing a black necklace with a cross that family said belonged to DiNapoli, according to court documents.
    Caelyn Pender, Mercury News, 11 July 2025
  • Another thing worth noting is that a lot of people complain about the rings getting scratched and showing signs of wear pretty quickly.
    Kristine Thomason, Vogue, 10 July 2025
Verb
  • Long fascinated by the moa, Jackson and Walsh have been collecting bones of the extinct bird for years.
    Degen Pener, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2025
  • Michael Karin has long been fascinated by what happens when inflammation — ideally a short-term burst of biological activity to promote healing or fight infection — turns chronic and potentially deadly.
    Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 July 2025
Verb
  • In the latest battle, Black’s lawyers on June 30 filed a request for a preliminary injunction asking the Tennessee Department of Corrections to ensure that his implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is deactivated in the moments before his execution.
    Kelly Puente, The Tennessean, 3 July 2025
  • The suspicious accounts have since been deactivated and the agency has disabled the ability to make new accounts from foreign IP addresses.
    Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 2 July 2025
Noun
  • The store brand juggernaut triggered by pandemic-era inflation and economic uncertainty has passed a tipping point with consumers and may have claimed its first national brand victim.
    Greg Petro, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025
  • The same region of Texas Hill Country where a flash flood on July 4 killed more than 130 people was hit again with downpours a week later, forcing searchers to temporarily pause their efforts to find missing victims.
    Jeremy Porter, CBS News, 14 July 2025
Noun
  • That race, won by 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, was widely viewed as a successful blend of NASCAR’s history with its modern era.
    Greg Engle, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
  • The last time the state’s majority vote went for a Republican presidential candidate was in 1988, also the last year a Democrat won a Senate race in the state.
    Philip Elliott, Time, 9 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Kill.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kill. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.

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