mercy killing

noun

Definition of mercy killingnext
as in murder
the act of ending the life of someone who is very sick or injured in order to prevent any further suffering Some called her death a mercy killing.

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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 mercy killing Too much damage has been done to the character in recent years, to the point that any death would be seen as a mercy killing now. — Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 6 May 2026 For the rest of us, sudden death felt like a mercy killing. — James Horncastle, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2026 Kelson teaches Spike how to grow beyond his parents, giving Isla a mercy killing and allowing Spike to place her skull on the top of the structure. — Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025 While this was a funeral rite for some in the Roman period, the researchers think the man was decapitated as a mercy killing after the lion bite. — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 23 Apr. 2025 If the mercy killing wasn’t a big enough of a twist, the introduction of three outsiders who stumble upon the girls’ cannibalistic feast will do it. — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 17 Mar. 2025 More secrets emerge, Chappelle says there’s no time to explain, even mercy killing the dog. — Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 19 Jan. 2025 The doctor carried out the mercy killing with her family’s consent and support. — Washington Post, 11 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mercy killing
  1. murder
  2. homicide
  3. massacre
  4. assisted suicide
Noun
  • The sheriff's office said ballistic testing performed with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives later produced forensic evidence linking the two murders.
    — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 22 July 2026
  • Nearly three years after Ebony Duncan vanished after leaving work in Independence, a Jackson County jury has found her former boyfriend guilty of second-degree murder.
    — Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 22 July 2026
Definition of murder
Noun
  • Fort Worth Police Department homicide detectives on Monday arrested Alonzo Reyes, 18, and Gerald Chamberlain, 17, on suspicion of murder in the alleged ruse.
    — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 July 2026
  • In 2022, by contrast, there had been almost twice as many homicides by the midpoint of the year, with 50 people killed in Denver by July 1, including 14 children.
    — Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 20 July 2026
Definition of homicide
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, ABC News, 24 July 2026
  • The arrival of these trains and news of communal massacres in places such as Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Bihar erode the village’s sense of security, despite the inhabitants having lived in harmony for years prior.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 July 2026
Definition of massacre
Noun
  • Luxembourg Luxembourg legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide in March 2009 with the Law on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide.
    — Connor Greene, Time, 16 July 2026
  • In the past years, many French people have traveled to neighboring countries where medically assisted suicide or euthanasia is legal.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 July 2026
Definition of assisted suicide

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Cite this Entry

“Mercy killing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mercy%20killing. Accessed 27 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on mercy killing

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about mercy killing

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