1
as in killed
to deprive of life
millions have been slain worldwide by this dreadful disease
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in murdered
to put to death deliberately
vowed to slay without mercy whoever was responsible for murdering his family
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Through tears, the father of slain Nasir Delaney-Rowland shared a statement in court that his son was one of a kind.
—
Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2025
Men and boys have been targeted and slain on ethnic grounds.
—Jade Walker, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
Officials have finalized funeral services for slain Kansas City, Kansas police officer Hunter Simoncic.
—Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 28 Aug. 2025
KPop Demon Hunters has officially slain Red Notice.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2025
Hours after the baby was found, authorities found her parents, grandmother and uncle slain elsewhere in the county.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, People.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Kennedy also visited the DeKalb County Police Department, and later met privately with the slain officer’s wife.
—Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Earlier this year, inmates Saul Alvarez, Thorne Harnage and Donald Lashley were slain at the prison.
—Rey Covarrubias Jr, AZCentral.com, 12 Aug. 2025
In between golf and meeting on his visit to Scotland, Trump praised the police for quickly ending the carnage and paid tribute to slain Officer Didarul Islam for trying to defend innocent victims inside the Park Ave.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 29 July 2025
Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2025
Men and boys have been targeted and slain on ethnic grounds.
—Jade Walker, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
Officials have finalized funeral services for slain Kansas City, Kansas police officer Hunter Simoncic.
—Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 28 Aug. 2025
KPop Demon Hunters has officially slain Red Notice.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2025
Hours after the baby was found, authorities found her parents, grandmother and uncle slain elsewhere in the county.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, People.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Kennedy also visited the DeKalb County Police Department, and later met privately with the slain officer’s wife.
—Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Earlier this year, inmates Saul Alvarez, Thorne Harnage and Donald Lashley were slain at the prison.
—Rey Covarrubias Jr, AZCentral.com, 12 Aug. 2025
In between golf and meeting on his visit to Scotland, Trump praised the police for quickly ending the carnage and paid tribute to slain Officer Didarul Islam for trying to defend innocent victims inside the Park Ave.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 29 July 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slain
Verb
-
Evergreen High School is located about 20 miles from Columbine High School, the site of an infamous 1999 mass shooting that killed 12 students and a teacher.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Conservative commentator Will Cain observed a moment of silence on his Fox News show after a gunman shot and killed Charlie Kirk on Wednesday.—
Ross O'Keefe,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The house is haunted by a family of farmers that lived and died on the land, murdered horribly by the patriarch of the family, but really, the problem is the demon that controls the mirror and its dark reflections.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was murdered on Wednesday during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Alternatively, a star being ripped apart in TDE could produce a day-long GRB, but this scenario fails to replicate other properties of the GRB 250702B, an explosion that would require a very unusual star being destroyed by an even stranger black hole.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Hadid was commissioned to design it for a fire brigade on the Vitra Campus after a major 1981 fire destroyed most of the complex, which originally consisted of factory buildings but is now a collection of contemporary design and architecture showrooms.—
Mae Hamilton,
AFAR Media,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
That ornery cleric was Moqtada al-Sadr, the son of Mohammad Sadiq al-Sadr, a grand ayatollah assassinated almost certainly by Saddam’s order in 1999.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Israel has assassinated many of Hamas’ top military and political leadership.—
Wafaa Shurafa,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The long sordid legal saga came to a somber end in January 2024 when Kenneth Eugene Smith was executed via nitrogen gas in Alabama after being convicted in a murder-for-hire plot.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Others incorrectly stated that the killers had executed their plan to perfection.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Slain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slain. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share