Synonyms of kills

kills 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of kill

1

as in destroys

to deprive of life

during the war more soldiers were killed by disease than anything else

Synonyms & Similar Words

• destroys
• slays
• takes
• dispatches
• murders
• slaughters
• assassinates
• claims
• neutralizes
• carries off
• gets
• wastes
• croaks
• fells
• does for
• executes
• does away with
• does in
• makes away with
• annihilates
• decimates
• finishes
• cuts down
• snuffs
• smites
• massacres
• terminates
• offs
• mows
• kills off
• whacks
• rubs out
• takes out
• butchers
• knocks off
• puts away
• blots out
• ices
• bumps off
• martyrs
• scrags
• euthanizes
• suicides
• puts down

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• animates
• restores
• raises
• revives
• resurrects
• nurtures
• resuscitates

2

as in dismisses

to reject by or as if by a vote

the Senate killed the bill by a single vote

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dismisses
• refuses
• vetoes
• shoots down
• downs
• nixes
• blackballs
• disallows
• disapproves
• declines
• negatives
• blacklists

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• confirms
• allows
• passes
• approves
• admits
• supports
• ratifies
• elects
• assents (to)
• sanctions

3

as in deletes

to show (something written) to be no longer valid by drawing a cross over or a line through it

I think that paragraph is irrelevant, so kill it

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deletes
• cancels
• erases
• removes
• strikes (out)
• crosses (out)
• censors
• strokes (out)
• eradicates
• edits (out)
• scratches (out)
• obliterates
• elides
• blue-pencils
• suppresses
• expunges
• effaces
• wipes out
• deles
• shortens
• clips
• excises
• blots out
• rubs out
• roots (out)
• x's (out)
• crops
• launders
• silences
• represses
• cleans (up)
• abbreviates
• cuts
• redacts
• expurgates
• bowdlerizes
• red-pencils
• blips
• blacks out
• bleeps

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• stets

4

as in wears

to use up all the physical energy of

the long hike up the mountain just about killed us

Synonyms & Similar Words

• wears
• exhausts
• drains
• tires
• harasses
• busts
• breaks
• wearies
• burns out
• knocks out
• wastes
• wears out
• washes out
• weakens
• outwears
• fatigues
• frazzles
• debilitates
• fags
• does in
• saps
• wears to a frazzle
• does up
• tuckers (out)
• enfeebles
• enervates

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• activates
• strengthens
• energizes
• rests
• invigorates
• rejuvenates
• relaxes
• vitalizes
• unwinds

5

as in fascinates

to attract or delight as if by magic

with his dark good looks he would positively kill the ladies

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fascinates
• entices
• seduces
• enchants
• delights
• captivates
• lures
• pleases
• charms
• tempts
• draws
• intrigues
• interests
• beguiles
• magnetizes
• bewitches
• pulls
• witches
• disarms
• allures
• gratifies
• woos
• appeals (to)
• invites
• wiles
• arrests
• entrances
• beckons
• enthralls
• enraptures
• solicits
• courts

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• offends
• repels
• disgusts
• annoys
• displeases
• bores
• revolts
• tires
• irks
• wearies

6

as in deactivates

to cause to stop functioning

kill the engine before it overheats

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deactivates
• brakes
• shuts off
• sticks
• turns off
• dismantles
• halts
• jams
• flicks (off)
• arrests
• stalls
• cuts off
• phases out
• mothballs
• draws up
• chocks

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• starts
• moves
• runs
• drives
• activates
• triggers
• propels
• generates
• fuels
• sparks
• powers
• pushes
• actuates
• sets off
• turns on
• fires
• energizes
• charges
• trips
• launches
• touches off
• releases
• switches
• discharges
• electrifies
• cranks (up)
• reactivates
• recharges

kills

2 of 2

noun

plural of kill

1

as in victims

Related Words

• victims
• games
• creatures
• chases
• prey
• targets
• critters
• quarries
• beasts
• brutes

Dissimilar Words

• predators
• hunters
• killers
• murderers
• carnivores
• pursuers
• chasers

2

as in washes

Related Words

• washes
• races
• cuts
• cutoffs
• waterways
• canals
• watercourses
• sloughs
• guts
• streams
• millstreams
• millraces
• channels
• coulees
• runs
• tributaries
• distributaries
• burns
• bayous
• influents
• freshets
• affluents
• branches
• confluents
• runoffs
• freshes
• arroyos
• brooks
• rills
• billabongs
• streamlets
• runnels
• rivulets
• creeks
• brooklets
• becks
• bourns
• runlets
• gills

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of kills

Verb

Listeria hits about 1,250 people in the United States each year, according to the CDC, and kills 172. — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 7 Sep. 2026

Special series An NPR investigation finds that heat kills thousands of Americans every year. — Brittney Melton, NPR, 3 Sep. 2026

Because the coating stops being an insulator when its breakdown threshold is reached, the charge rips through it in a miniature dielectric breakdown, the same failure mode that kills capacitors and transformer insulation. — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 31 Aug. 2026

The forest feels healthy even though it is pockmarked with dead standing beetle kills. — Megan Schrader, Denver Post, 27 Aug. 2026

Pancreatic cancer kills a disproportionate share of the people who get it. — Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026

Fire at hospital in Pakistan’s capital kills 14 newborns, officials say. — ABC News, 26 Aug. 2026

Airstrike in Gaza kills a 4-year-old Four-year-old Mohammed Taha died after an Israeli airstrike hit a house in central Gaza on Sunday, hospital authorities said. — Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026

Giving a mother who kills preferential treatment harkens to the patronizing assumption that women lack agency. — Dr. Susan Hatters Friedman, Hartford Courant, 23 Aug. 2026

Noun

Texas picked it up in the second half and finished with 37 deflections and four kills — a kill represents three consecutive defensive stops — to stymie a Bulldogs team that had won four of its last five games on the road. — Kirk Bohls, Houston Chronicle, 24 Jan. 2026

Cos-Okpalla clinched three of the last five points for Texas A&M with two kills and an assisted block, including a final kill over the middle for match point. — Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 19 Dec. 2025

Pugh then scored on back-to-back kills later in the set, scored on a block and scored on a kill for the final point of the set. — Lou Ponsi, Oc Register, 14 Oct. 2025

Harris had two kills during a 5-1 run that closed out the first game and a kill, block and ace during a comeback in the second game. — Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2025