Synonyms of murderous

murderous

adjective

ˈmər-d(ə-)rəs 

1

as in oppressive

difficult to endure

the murderous heat of the desert

Synonyms & Similar Words

• oppressive
• harsh
• searing
• brutal
• tough
• severe
• rough
• cruel
• hard
• grim
• inhuman
• trying
• heavy
• bitter
• painful
• onerous
• burdensome
• grievous
• bleak
• rugged
• excruciating
• stiff
• unpleasant
• uncomfortable
• unbearable
• hardhanded
• inhospitable
• strict
• bad
• forbidding
• rigorous
• intemperate
• crushing
• overwhelming
• discomforting
• wild
• stringent
• austere
• spartan
• agonizing
• inclement
• biting
• wretched
• hostile
• tortuous
• insufferable
• intolerable
• comfortless
• unendurable
• heartbreaking
• harrowing
• disagreeable
• grinding
• unfriendly
• insupportable
• heartrending
• wearing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• light
• easy
• soft
• comfortable
• friendly
• luxurious
• pleasant
• peaceful
• cozy
• agreeable
• genial
• hospitable
• mild
• gentle
• restful
• moderate
• relaxing
• tolerable
• snug
• calm
• painless
• bearable
• temperate
• balmy
• reposeful
• endurable
• clement

2

as in difficult

requiring considerable physical or mental effort

those exams were murderous

Synonyms & Similar Words

• difficult
• challenging
• tough
• rigorous
• formidable
• demanding
• heavy
• hard
• complicated
• killer
• sweaty
• rough
• rugged
• severe
• tall
• strenuous
• effortful
• exacting
• arduous
• painful
• intricate
• laborious
• testing
• grueling
• exhausting
• backbreaking
• uphill
• herculean
• complex
• serious
• stiff
• toilsome
• brutal
• hellacious
• oppressive
• annoying
• grim
• problematic
• pick-and-shovel
• stubborn
• elusive
• moiling
• bruising
• hairy
• troublesome
• Augean
• abstract
• thorny
• involved
• stressful
• cruel
• tricky
• spiny
• onerous
• burdensome
• vexatious
• insoluble
• recondite
• abstruse
• opaque
• tight
• knotty
• inhuman
• irksome
• strict
• bothersome
• ticklish
• stringent
• distressing
• labored
• trying
• grievous
• taxing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• simple
• light
• mindless
• easy
• soft
• cheap
• effortless
• clear
• undemanding
• elementary
• facile
• uncomplicated
• achievable
• manageable
• gentle
• smooth
• doable
• soothing
• comforting
• friendly
• painless
• relaxed
• accessible
• user-friendly
• idiotproof

3

as in lethal

likely to cause or capable of causing death

braved murderous machine-gun fire to capture the hill from the enemy

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lethal
• deadly
• poisonous
• fatal
• infectious
• killer
• infective
• harmful
• dangerous
• toxic
• deathly
• baleful
• terminal
• destructive
• mortal
• pestilent
• pernicious
• injurious
• fell
• hazardous
• virulent
• baneful
• vital
• deleterious
• pestilential
• noxious
• truculent
• menacing
• perilous
• serious
• risky
• threatening
• ugly
• bloody
• sanguinary
• sublethal
• unhealthy
• grievous
• grave
• parlous
• internecine
• unsound
• sanguine
• jeopardizing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• healthy
• healthful
• wholesome
• beneficial
• nonfatal
• nonlethal
• salutary
• salubrious
• restorative
• corrective
• remedial
• curative
• useful
• tonic
• advantageous
• safe
• nontoxic
• alleviative
• nonpoisonous

4

as in murdering

eager for or marked by the shedding of blood, extreme violence, or killing

Viking warriors became legendary for the murderous fury they displayed in battle

Synonyms & Similar Words

• murdering
• bloody
• brutal
• savage
• violent
• vicious
• bloodthirsty
• ferocious
• homicidal
• fierce
• sanguinary
• cruel
• ruthless
• contentious
• sanguine
• aggressive
• sanguineous
• sadistic
• bloody-minded
• merciless
• hostile
• barbarous
• barbaric
• hateful
• heartless
• inhumane
• antagonistic
• malicious
• pitiless
• belligerent
• bellicose
• pugnacious
• malevolent
• malignant
• truculent
• gladiatorial
• combative
• cold-blooded
• quarrelsome
• grim
• spiteful
• assertive
• wanton
• scrappy
• bloodstained
• discordant
• gory
• malign
• nasty
• fell
• despiteful
• mean

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• peaceful
• peaceable
• conciliatory
• sympathetic
• pacific
• benign
• disarming
• kind
• humane
• compassionate
• propitiatory
• warm
• unaggressive
• unassertive
• dovish
• kindhearted
• benignant
• placatory
• merciful
• benevolent
• appeasing
• tenderhearted
• placative
• peacemaking
• mollifying
• placating
• amiable
• lenient
• gentle
• pacifying
• warmhearted
• good-hearted
• tender
• affable
• amicable
• kindly
• clement
• submissive
• surrendering
• yielding

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of murderous

Like other death row dramas including Clemency, Just Mercy and Dead Man Walking, this film questions whether there’s really that big a difference between murderous cruelty and state-sanctioned capital punishment. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2026

The women are frequently naked, and the men are either murderous or barbaric. — Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 14 Sep. 2026

Simon’s Slaughterhouse — Step inside a meat processing plant that has been taken over by Simon the Butcher and his murderous crew. — Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 8 Sep. 2026

Nevertheless, 2022’s Scream, revs the engine of the Scream 4, then hauls it in overdrive when more murderous mayhem storms through Woodsboro. — Michael Lee Simpson, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Sep. 2026