KILLER Synonyms: 201 Similar and Opposite Words

killer 1 of 2

noun

ˈki-lər

Definition of killer

as in headache

a dull, unpleasant, or difficult piece of work weeding out that overgrown garden is going to be a killer

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in murderer

a person who kills another person gunned down by hired killers

Synonyms & Similar Words

killer

2 of 2

adjective

as in lethal

likely to cause or capable of causing death killer viruses that claimed millions of lives

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as in difficult

requiring considerable physical or mental effort a killer exercise program guaranteed to whip you into shape

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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 killer

Noun

But, though the special effects are killer, what makes the show click is its suspenseful melancholy, as quiet scenes build to jolts so intense that the whole audience screamed. — Rhoda Feng, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026 Globally, as a killer, colorectal cancer ranks second only to lung cancer. — Caleb Hellerman, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2026 There is something inherently unsettling about any public expression of support for a confessed killer, but these gatherings and their associated social-media movements have not seemed aimed at improving Clancy’s odds of success in court. — Elizabeth Bruenig, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026 Why is Fredrick Demond Scott called the 'Indian Creek serial killer'? — Ahmed Jawadi, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for killer

Recent Examples of Synonyms for killer

Noun

Brighton sold Carlos Baleba to Manchester United in August in a deal worth up to £70m, and also losing Ayari during the summer window would have been a headache for the head coach.

— Andy Naylor, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Pay for the features that reduce headaches After 1,700 miles, that might have been the biggest lesson.

— Chris Hardesty, AJC.com, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of headache

Noun

In June 2021, a camera helped locate a murderer, Joseph Jean, 56, who sped off after stabbing a 38-year-old woman on a sidewalk in Fort Lauderdale, the agency said.

— Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2026
Austin Metcalf's father is speaking out for the first time after a judge denied denied his son's murderer -- Karmelo Anthony -- a request for a new trial for the fatal stabbing at a Texas high school track meet.

— ABC News, ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of murderer

Adjective

Zverev has one of the most lethal backhands in the game, if not the best, and the Grand Slam experience to know when to become a brick wall in a rally and let his opponent make a mistake.

— Ava Wallace, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
The girl was born with a condition called Amish lethal microcephaly, which causes an unusually small head and underdeveloped brain.

— Mead Gruver, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of lethal

Adjective

Being undefeated after a trio of difficult opening matches can only be seen as a positive, even if Newcastle’s obvious shortcomings require addressing if that run is to be prolonged.

— Chris Waugh, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
Engineers need flight data on propulsion, aerodynamics, thermal management, guidance and other subsystems under conditions that are difficult to reproduce on the ground.

— Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of difficult

Noun

Jeffrey Katzenberg, then a studio executive at Paramount Pictures, hand-picked the Happy Days star for the job, but at the time, Winkler had a bad feeling about accepting it.

— Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026
And Kyle was doing a great job of dialing up the right play calls.

— Vic Tafur, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of job

Noun

Across Greengrass’ three Bourne movies, the elite assassin turns against the clandestine institution that created him, determined to escape its grip and bring its covert operations to light.

— Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2026
Before Atlanta, the girls weren’t judged as heavily based on their reads or confessional assassin abilities.

— Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of assassin

Adjective

Deadly crash comes amid Labor Day travel The deadly crash happened during the Labor Day travel rush at the South Florida hub.

— Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2026
Jack Lang El Hadji Malick Diouf (Brentford) When Senegal beat England in a friendly last summer, the standout player was their rangy left-back, who seemed to spend the entire game ploughing up and down that flank and whipping in deadly crosses.

— David Ornstein, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of deadly

Adjective

Eric Loucks, the director of the Mindfulness Center at Brown, pointed out that a person can have a challenging experience during meditation and still find their overall meditation practice to be beneficial.

— Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026
For something more hands-on, Atlanta Motorsports Park in Dawsonville has a challenging kart circuit where karts can reach 50 mph or more.

— Chris Teague, AJC.com, 4 Sep. 2026