as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
under his slash-and-burn management ethic, even longtime employees were summarily downsized for the sake of corporate competitiveness
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Recent Examples of slash-and-burn
Tesla stock suffered as a result of billionaire Elon Musk’s slash-and-burn approach to government efficiency as a Trump advisor.
—
Matthew Kelly
may 8, Kansas City Star, 8 May 2026
Many of the dispossessed took to the woods and subsisted by slash-and-burn tillage, while others immigrated to Manchuria and Japan in search of jobs; the majority of Korean residents now in those areas are their descendants.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Mar. 2026
Even after a year of slash-and-burn, Trump is not done.
—Lara Williams, Twin Cities, 22 Jan. 2026
That stark reality forced both sides to wage slash-and-burn propaganda campaigns designed to sow doubt and disinformation among their enemies.
—Literary Hub, 7 Nov. 2025
The Ukrainian experience here points to a Russian slash-and-burn policy.
—Scott Peterson, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Oct. 2025
Here and there, a plume of smoke rose up from a field; slash-and-burn farming, locally known as tavy, is still practiced here.
—Chris Schalkx, Vogue, 30 Sep. 2025
The slash-and-burn approach to funding academic research counters that goal.
—Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 20 Aug. 2025
The push by Trump and Elon Musk, who led DOGE before leaving the White House in May, drew widespread condemnation over the administration's slash-and-burn approach to shrinking the bureaucracy.
—Peter Aitken, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Aug. 2025
Matthew Kelly
may 8, Kansas City Star, 8 May 2026
Many of the dispossessed took to the woods and subsisted by slash-and-burn tillage, while others immigrated to Manchuria and Japan in search of jobs; the majority of Korean residents now in those areas are their descendants.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Mar. 2026
Even after a year of slash-and-burn, Trump is not done.
—Lara Williams, Twin Cities, 22 Jan. 2026
That stark reality forced both sides to wage slash-and-burn propaganda campaigns designed to sow doubt and disinformation among their enemies.
—Literary Hub, 7 Nov. 2025
The Ukrainian experience here points to a Russian slash-and-burn policy.
—Scott Peterson, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Oct. 2025
Here and there, a plume of smoke rose up from a field; slash-and-burn farming, locally known as tavy, is still practiced here.
—Chris Schalkx, Vogue, 30 Sep. 2025
The slash-and-burn approach to funding academic research counters that goal.
—Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 20 Aug. 2025
The push by Trump and Elon Musk, who led DOGE before leaving the White House in May, drew widespread condemnation over the administration's slash-and-burn approach to shrinking the bureaucracy.
—Peter Aitken, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slash-and-burn
Adjective
-
Serenity Maggie’s (and Sweet Magnolias‘) trip to New York was cut short as Season 5 offered a juxtaposition between small-town values and ruthless big-city corporate culture.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
11 June 2026
-
Ruffalo will voice Nero, a scrappy black cat, and Fishburne will play Rocco, a ruthless cat mob boss.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
11 June 2026
Adjective
-
Having catalogued the Black Death’s horrifying effects, Ibn Khatima went on to outline a series of preventative measures and active treatments designed to combat this merciless scourge.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 May 2026
-
The jokes on social media will be endless, and opposing fans will be merciless.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
20 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Slash-and-burn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slash-and-burn. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
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