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murderous

adjective

ˈmər-d(ə-)rəs How to pronounce murderous (audio)
Definition of murderousnext
1
as in oppressive
difficult to endure the murderous heat of the desert

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2
as in difficult
requiring considerable physical or mental effort those exams were murderous

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3
as in lethal
likely to cause or capable of causing death braved murderous machine-gun fire to capture the hill from the enemy

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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

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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 murderous If only his dour and prickly assistant Patricia (Kate O’Flynn) would stop mentioning her encounter with the murderous Boogeyman. — Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 11 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 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 See All Example Sentences for murderous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for murderous
  1. oppressive
  2. difficult
  3. lethal
  4. bloody
  5. harsh
  6. challenging
  7. deadly
  8. brutal
Adjective
  • The investigation into Toro follows a complaint from Bigelow that alleges the workplace culture under Toro’s leadership is characterized as oppressive, bullying and fearful, according to the complaint.
    — Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 20 Sep. 2026
  • In its opening episodes, the series carefully distinguishes Lizzie from her male killer counterparts while highlighting the oppressive conditions women faced in the era.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of oppressive
Adjective
  • Walk up to the pastry case and prepare to make some difficult decisions.
    — Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 27 Sep. 2026
  • Fish can be hard to find and harder to catch this time of year, but American anglers have adapted to difficult fishing conditions.
    — Bryan Hendricks, Arkansas Online, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of difficult
Adjective
  • The producers, meanwhile, have one too many flashbacks to Squid Game’s lethal competitions.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
  • The team calculated a combined measure of heat and humidity that sets a lethal limit for modern endotherms and found that threshold was never crossed anywhere in their Cretaceous simulations.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of lethal
Adjective
  • At the heart of the new book is the 1968 Battle of Hue, fought during the notoriously bloody Tet Offensive.
    — Simon Ellery, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Appropriated from a John Cale album, the title accurately describes scenes of bloodletting committed by bizarre, scenery-chewing yakuza members, and the energy hovers somewhere around a bloodier-than-baseline Takashi Miike movie from the mid-2000s.
    — Vadim Rizov, Variety, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of bloody
Adjective
  • This has been complicated further by the Iran war energy shock which is a harsh wake-up call for Southeast Asia.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Even when used on its own, bleach is incredibly harsh and can strip your floors’ finish, leaving it vulnerable to damage, discoloration, and dullness over time.
    — Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of harsh
Adjective
  • Blocking new infections on a wider scale is far more challenging.
    — David Cox, NPR, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Ed Sheeran‘s challenging month continues as a pair of his high-profile stadium shows have been canceled due to weather.
    — William Earl, Variety, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of challenging
Adjective
  • The outbreak is concentrated in Ituri province and is known to be the deadliest of all past 17 Ebola outbreaks in the country.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Sep. 2026
  • His team, which had just gruelingly removed passengers stuck between scraps of metal and glass, turned its attention to another deadly disaster Tuesday night.
    — Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of deadly
Adjective
  • The Process There are plenty of valid fears that come with going gray and the long, often brutal grow-out process is just one of them.
    — Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 25 Sep. 2026
  • New Yorkers are in for a brutal weekend filled with heavy rainfall and intense winds as a powerful early-season nor’easter threatens to wallop much of the East Coast.
    — Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of brutal

Browse Nearby Words

murdering
murderous
murderousness
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Cite this Entry

“Murderous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/murderous. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

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