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

For decades, the prevailing story of the Manson murders held that Charles Manson masterminded a murderous plot to ignite a race war inspired by the Beatles. — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 5 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

With this novel about gay experience and murderous homophobia in Jamaica and elsewhere during the 1980s and ’90s, James has written a masterpiece, the novel of the decade and possibly of the century thus far. — Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2026

Then came Hamas’ murderous invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, and the even more murderous Israeli invasion of Gaza, which triggered protests and encampments on college campuses from Mexico to Australia. — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 19 Aug. 2026