1
as in oppressive
difficult to endure
the murderous heat of the desert
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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Recent Examples of murderous
Large swaths of territory in our region, including large parts of Mexico, really large parts of Mexico, have been controlled by murderous drug cartels.
—
Dallas Morning News, 25 Feb. 2026
For years, large swaths of territory in our region, including large parts of Mexico, really large parts of Mexico, have been controlled by murderous drug cartels.
—Time Staff, Time, 25 Feb. 2026
That man has a foreign power’s murderous security apparatus at his neck, and Henry can’t cope with a little tough love.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2026
As the curse causes the infected villagers to become violently murderous, police officer Jong-goo (Kwak Do-won) tries to get to the bottom of it, personally motivated by his daughter's own transformation.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for murderous
Dallas Morning News, 25 Feb. 2026
For years, large swaths of territory in our region, including large parts of Mexico, really large parts of Mexico, have been controlled by murderous drug cartels.
—Time Staff, Time, 25 Feb. 2026
That man has a foreign power’s murderous security apparatus at his neck, and Henry can’t cope with a little tough love.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2026
As the curse causes the infected villagers to become violently murderous, police officer Jong-goo (Kwak Do-won) tries to get to the bottom of it, personally motivated by his daughter's own transformation.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for murderous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for murderous
Adjective
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There is something oppressive about being tied into everything all the time.—
Benjamin Svetkey,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Iran is a bad actor and oppressive state that has suppressed its people and supported terrorism around the world.—
Kaitlyn Schallhorn,
Oc Register,
28 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Anyone who has seen the way the space works today can recognize that there are a lot of families who find this very, very difficult right now.—
Anna Moeslein,
Glamour,
9 Mar. 2026
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Demonstrating that was difficult due to natural fluctuations in temperatures.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Many diseases are more infectious and more lethal than COVID-19 was, and the next such pandemic could prove to be our species’ undoing.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
4 Mar. 2026
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Nicholas and three of his playmates at the day care were poisoned by the lethal opioid, which the owners stored in a nap room, officials said.—
Sheetal Banchariya,
New York Daily News,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Engineers have long searched for efficient electric alternatives that can survive the harsh conditions inside industrial systems.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Mar. 2026
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Critics say the danger faced by agents whose names are made public is overblown, almost always limited to harsh and violent words lobbed from behind a laptop or phone screen.—
James Queally,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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According to Hermeus, developing aircraft capable of such speeds remains one of the most challenging areas of aerospace engineering.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Mar. 2026
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Subscribe now Kennedy’s girls basketball team continued to show its growth with freshman Ta’Niya Paul on Tuesday during a challenging Division IV first-round game in the CIF Southern California Regional.—
Dan Albano,
Oc Register,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Dan Morrison Eleven different countries have asked Ukraine for help in countering Iran's deadly Shahed drones, with request for interceptors, electronic warfare systems and training, Ukrainian Presiden Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
10 Mar. 2026
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Yet Aster diagnoses them, and everyone else, with a deadly case of social media brain rot.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The pads of his feet were worn down to bloody open sores.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Mar. 2026
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Iran’s ninety-two million people, in the meantime, are trapped between bloody war and the bloody regime.—
Robin Wright,
New Yorker,
8 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The scandal caused a searing public spotlight to be cast on UConn Health’s financial management practices.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
28 Feb. 2026
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The series is equal parts sweeping romance and searing exploration of fame and family in the social media age.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
25 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Murderous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/murderous. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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