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

Investigators found a shrine in Colt Gray's bedroom to Nikolas Cruz, the shooter in the 2018 massacre at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, prosecutors said. — ABC News, 24 July 2026

Voiceover narration tells us that a massacre took place that day, and the last stretch of the country’s railroad was destroyed. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 22 July 2026

Verb

At least 100,000 Poles were massacred by the UPA. — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 20 June 2026

President Karol Nawrocki decided to strip Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle over the Ukrainian leader’s decision to name a military unit after a Ukrainian paramilitary organization accused of massacring Poles during World War II. — Claudia Ciobanu, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2026