slain

past participle of slay

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 slain The left hasn't yet matched the reach of conservative influencers who seized on social issues last year, such as Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson and slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Jay Stahl, USA Today, 25 Oct. 2025 Devotion had found her limits, been slain by her limits. Joy Williams, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025 The Stommes’ two older children were unharmed physically in the shooting spree, while Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski were slain. Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 23 Oct. 2025 But the classic dragon—reptilian, treasure-hoarding, and doomed to be slain—feels distinctly Indo-European. Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025 Murray, 72, was found slain and bound with duct tape and zip ties in the basement of his home in the 3700 block of Newcastle after his wife called 911 to report a robbery. Christina Hall, Freep.com, 3 Oct. 2025 Beginning in 1964 Nagasaki and unfolding over the next 50 years, young Kikuo (Soya Kurokawa) is taken under the wing of renowned Kabuki maestro Hanjiro Hanai (Ken Watanabe) after his yakuza father was slain. Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 30 Sep. 2025 The tempo supports his rapid-fire bars, though, balancing heartbreak over those slain with conviction for their cause. Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 29 Sep. 2025 Plus, here’s how your federal lawmakers voted on a resolution honoring the slain activist. Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 24 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slain
Verb
  • Firefighters whisper about a gas main as a little girl, Dinah, is carried out of the wreckage—the sole survivor of a blast that killed her mom.
    Judy Berman, Time, 29 Oct. 2025
  • As various ancient sources recount, after Achilles is killed by Paris, the Greeks resort to deception.
    Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Season 1 draws from Hillerman’s novel Listening Woman about two people who are murdered in front of a blind shaman.
    Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
  • In 2024, the BBC found several bots impersonating British teenagers Brianna Ghey, who was murdered in 2023, and Molly Russell, who died by suicide at 14 after viewing online material related to self-harm.
    Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Herodotus reasoned that had Helen in fact been within the walls of Troy instead of in Egypt, the Trojans would surely have surrendered her to the Greeks rather than allow their city to be destroyed.
    Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Your homes may have been damaged or destroyed and your communities and towns no longer look the same.
    Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Trump was close to Abe, who was assassinated after leaving office.
    Preston Fore, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2025
  • After he was assassinated in September at Utah Valley University, the first stop on his tour, TPUSA announced Carlson would speak at IU instead.
    Marissa Meador, IndyStar, 22 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Johnson reportedly regained control of the vehicle and attempted to flee again, but police executed a ramming technique, known as a tactical vehicle intervention, to disable the vehicle, the release says.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2025
  • In Comet, Brave also found that attackers can hide commands in images that are executed when a user takes a screenshot, while in Fellou—another agentic AI browser—simply navigating to a malicious web page can trigger the AI to follow harmful instructions.
    Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Slain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slain. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.

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