as in slaughters
the killing of a large number of people
the infamous massacre of more than 200 Sioux at Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in murders
to kill on a large scale
the country's rival ethnic groups began massacring one another
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 massacres
Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
One of the worst massacres is believed to have taken place at the Saudi Hospital, which was the last hospital still operating in the city during the siege.
—Rebecca Schneid, Time, 3 Nov. 2025
And in September, there were two back-to-back prison massacres.
—Max Saltman, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
My father’s family did not flee Turkey after the 1890s Armenian massacres but lived through the 1915 genocide, only fleeing in 1922.
—Ange Mlinko, The New York Review of Books, 23 Oct. 2025
Among the passengers was Qahtan Khalil, director of Syria’s air force intelligence, who was accused of being directly responsible for one of the bloodiest massacres of the country’s 13-year civil war.
—Danny Makki, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
Most people associate mass shootings with high-profile tragedies like the massacres at Charleston’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in 2015 or Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018.
—James Densley, The Conversation, 1 Oct. 2025
The platform was then embroiled in the Cambridge Analytica scandal and accused of allowing misinformation that skewed elections in the US and other western countries, and led to massacres in places like Myanmar.
—Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Administrators are haunted by past massacres, such as the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting that left 33 people dead, and the Michigan State University shooting in 2023 that killed three.
—Lexi Lonas Cochran, The Hill, 28 Aug. 2025
Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 25 Aug. 2025
Noun
Israel’s first occupation of Gaza was characterized by war crimes, massacres, and expulsions.
—Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
One of the worst massacres is believed to have taken place at the Saudi Hospital, which was the last hospital still operating in the city during the siege.
—Rebecca Schneid, Time, 3 Nov. 2025
And in September, there were two back-to-back prison massacres.
—Max Saltman, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
My father’s family did not flee Turkey after the 1890s Armenian massacres but lived through the 1915 genocide, only fleeing in 1922.
—Ange Mlinko, The New York Review of Books, 23 Oct. 2025
Among the passengers was Qahtan Khalil, director of Syria’s air force intelligence, who was accused of being directly responsible for one of the bloodiest massacres of the country’s 13-year civil war.
—Danny Makki, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
Most people associate mass shootings with high-profile tragedies like the massacres at Charleston’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in 2015 or Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018.
—James Densley, The Conversation, 1 Oct. 2025
The platform was then embroiled in the Cambridge Analytica scandal and accused of allowing misinformation that skewed elections in the US and other western countries, and led to massacres in places like Myanmar.
—Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Administrators are haunted by past massacres, such as the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting that left 33 people dead, and the Michigan State University shooting in 2023 that killed three.
—Lexi Lonas Cochran, The Hill, 28 Aug. 2025
Verb
The Polish government considers the Volhynia and Galicia massacres a genocide, and holds Bandera equal in infamy to Nazi war criminals of the same era.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 25 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for massacres
Noun
-
Hands-down one of the most disgusting movies ever made (a compliment), the film finds the indefatigable slasher, who was decapitated at the end of Terrifier 2, reattaching his head and commencing his ritual slaughters.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Freddy, through Jesse, antagonizes and murders a lot of men.—
Mike Ryan,
IndieWire,
31 Oct. 2025
-
He was convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison, but his guilt came into question in 1982 when investigators connected the Locci and Lo Bianco murders to the 1974, 1981, and 1982 slayings.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
To date, the agency has investigated 408 fatal incidents resulting in 454 deaths on Arkansas highways, state police records say.—
Daniel McFadin,
Arkansas Online,
10 Nov. 2025
-
The hurricane has been blamed for 77 deaths, according to the Pan American Health Organization.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
9 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Massacres.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/massacres. Accessed 19 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share