Synonyms of massacre

massacre 1 of 2

noun

ˈma-si-kər 

as in slaughter

the killing of a large number of people

the infamous massacre of more than 200 Sioux at Wounded Knee, South Dakota

Synonyms & Similar Words

• slaughter
• carnage
• death
• genocide
• holocaust
• murder
• bloodbath
• butchery
• killing
• slaying
• bloodshed
• extermination
• destruction
• homicide
• devastation
• manslaughter
• assassination
• mortality
• annihilation
• execution
• pogrom
• bloodletting
• eradication
• decimation
• foul play
• demolishing

massacre

2 of 2

verb

as in to slaughter

to kill on a large scale

the country's rival ethnic groups began massacring one another

Synonyms & Similar Words

• slaughter
• murder
• butcher
• slay
• assassinate
• dispatch
• execute
• destroy
• mow (down)
• eradicate
• fell
• exterminate
• wipe out
• smite
• demolish
• snuff
• annihilate
• waste
• decimate
• blot out
• do in
• devastate
• croak

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of massacre

Noun

Eventually the money simply ran out — Khrzhanovsky estimates Adoniev spent around 25 million euros, about $40 million in today’s money, before pulling the plug — and the set burned in that staged massacre of November 2011. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026

In his reports, there is both disbelief and bitter acceptance of the massacres of Ukraine’s Jewish population. — Nick Holdstock, The Dial, 8 Sep. 2026

Verb

Then one day, Giuliano (now played by an excellent Romeo Perrone) comes home to discover all the animals massacred and his father gone. — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 12 Aug. 2026

The transition to the climax, when Odysseus massacres his wife’s suitors with the help of Athena’s magic and son Telemachus (Alan Stenson), is also fairly rushed. — Elaina Patton, IndieWire, 24 July 2026