as in slaughter
the killing of a large number of people
the infamous massacre of more than 200 Sioux at Wounded Knee, South Dakota
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as in to slaughter
to kill on a large scale
the country's rival ethnic groups began massacring one another
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of massacre
Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 6 Mar. 2026
Colin Gray knew his son was obsessed with school shooters, even having a shrine in his bedroom to Nikolas Cruz, the shooter in the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, prosecutors said.
—Dallas Morning News, 3 Mar. 2026
Ramin Jahanbegloo, Time, 3 Feb. 2026
One of them, the Luisita Golf Course and Country Club, was built over a former sugar plantation where 14 striking workers were massacred in 2004.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 23 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for massacre
Noun
They were followed by the 2022 massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, where 38 people were shot, and a 2019 shooting spree across Odessa and Midland that impacted 30 victims.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 6 Mar. 2026
Colin Gray knew his son was obsessed with school shooters, even having a shrine in his bedroom to Nikolas Cruz, the shooter in the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, prosecutors said.
—Dallas Morning News, 3 Mar. 2026
Verb
Today Iranians are mourning thousands of their fellow citizens who were massacred during savage crackdowns on recent protests in Iran.
—Ramin Jahanbegloo, Time, 3 Feb. 2026
One of them, the Luisita Golf Course and Country Club, was built over a former sugar plantation where 14 striking workers were massacred in 2004.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 23 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for massacre
Recent Examples of Synonyms for massacre
slaughter
Noun
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Now after four years of ongoing horrors in Ukraine, and more than two years of watching slaughter and suffering in Gaza, the latest war filling our feeds is just another numbing form of content, a digital arena in which competing forces try to assert conflicting viewpoints.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
11 Mar. 2026
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There’s enough poetic irony there to land the billionaire slaughter in the middle of the list.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Massacre.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/massacre. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.
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