1
as in headache
a dull, unpleasant, or difficult piece of work
weeding out that overgrown garden is going to be a killer
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in murderer
a person who kills another person
gunned down by hired killers
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in lethal
likely to cause or capable of causing death
killer viruses that claimed millions of lives
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in difficult
requiring considerable physical or mental effort
a killer exercise program guaranteed to whip you into shape
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of killer
David Faris, TheWeek, 16 Apr. 2026
Historically, infantry’s biggest killer has been artillery.
—Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 16 Apr. 2026
Midsi Sanchez was just 8 years old when she was kidnapped and held captive by a serial killer before escaping.
—Midsi Sanchez, PEOPLE, 15 Apr. 2026
The killer blow for the Rockies was the third, when Houston scored six runs on four hits, two errors by second baseman Willi Castro, and a balk by starter Michael Lorenezen.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 15 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for killer
Noun
In this entry, the third of the series, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and his chums at a children’s finishing school for magicians called Hogwarts must work together to protect Harry from a killer named Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), who intends to kill the young wizard.
—David Faris, TheWeek, 16 Apr. 2026
Historically, infantry’s biggest killer has been artillery.
—Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 16 Apr. 2026
Midsi Sanchez was just 8 years old when she was kidnapped and held captive by a serial killer before escaping.
—Midsi Sanchez, PEOPLE, 15 Apr. 2026
The killer blow for the Rockies was the third, when Houston scored six runs on four hits, two errors by second baseman Willi Castro, and a balk by starter Michael Lorenezen.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 15 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for killer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for killer
Noun
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But after developing a headache that lasted for several months, a friend convinced her to visit the emergency room.—
Brad Quick,
CNBC,
20 Apr. 2026
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This can create headaches for physicians and other providers.—
Noam N. Levey,
Hartford Courant,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Forget the glossy card-stock mailers with distorted images, designed to make your opponent look like an ax murderer.—
Steve Bousquet,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 Apr. 2026
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Why hadn’t any of her producers and writers over the years—a murderers’ row including Tove Lo, Julia Michaels, and the duo Monsters & Strangerz, of the Max Martin school—struck the vein of her personality?—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Iran has gone from having the most lethal navy in the Middle East to now acting like a bunch of pirates.—
Charbel Mallo,
CNN Money,
22 Apr. 2026
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The combination is the standard in Florida lethal injections.—
Robert McGreevy,
FOXNews.com,
22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Putting in the new chip was more difficult.—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
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The rest will be more difficult.—
Doug Haller,
New York Times,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The company expected to be nearly halfway to its goal of 25,000 new jobs in the area by 2038.—
Kendall Staton,
Washington Post,
20 Apr. 2026
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And really got to that and did a nice job of mixing the four-seamer, the two-seamer.—
LaMond Pope,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Their efforts lead them in the season’s last two episodes to Paris, where Frank was planning to celebrate his 80th birthday with his children — only for him to be gunned down in a hotel lobby by an assassin who had been sent to kill Teddy for a deal gone wrong.—
Max Gao,
Variety,
11 Apr. 2026
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Neither of these two is necessarily a lip-sync assassin.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
11 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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For the first time since Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades engulfed his apartment building in November, Mak stepped into his former home again Monday.—
Kanis Leung,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2026
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Over the following decades, state and federal investigators linked the pipe to multiple explosions, including a fatal blast in Lake Dallas in 1997 and a deadly explosion in Garland in 2000 that killed three people.—
Brian New,
CBS News,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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And that making fairly big changes would be really challenging, not only internally at CBS, but externally for the audience.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
22 Apr. 2026
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Two miles of on-site hiking trails offer challenging routes leading to meditation gardens, hilltop swings, and astonishing views of the Pitons and coastline below.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Killer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/killer. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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