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
Frustrated attendees repeatedly pressed Marshall over President Donald Trump’s actions and the impact of billionaire Elon Musk’s slash-and-burn cost-cutting measures on federal workers and veterans.
—
Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 18 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
Trump’s slash-and-burn attack on our nation’s arts and culture industry can only be blamed for so much.
—Duante Beddingfield, Freep.com, 18 July 2025
The state initiatives have a markedly different character from Trump’s slash-and-burn approach, symbolized by Musk’s chain saw-brandishing appearance at a Conservative Political Action Committee appearance in February.
—Marc Levy, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2025
That practice, known as slash-and-burn farming, actually began 12,000 years ago, though it didn’t get started in earnest in North America until 1500 when European settlers arrived.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 3 July 2025
The work draws from images of gold mining in the Amazon, referencing extractive practices like logging and slash-and-burn farming.
—Nel-Olivia Waga, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 18 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
Trump’s slash-and-burn attack on our nation’s arts and culture industry can only be blamed for so much.
—Duante Beddingfield, Freep.com, 18 July 2025
The state initiatives have a markedly different character from Trump’s slash-and-burn approach, symbolized by Musk’s chain saw-brandishing appearance at a Conservative Political Action Committee appearance in February.
—Marc Levy, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2025
That practice, known as slash-and-burn farming, actually began 12,000 years ago, though it didn’t get started in earnest in North America until 1500 when European settlers arrived.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 3 July 2025
The work draws from images of gold mining in the Amazon, referencing extractive practices like logging and slash-and-burn farming.
—Nel-Olivia Waga, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slash-and-burn
Adjective
-
Governed by Saturn, this Earth sign is known for its ruthless ambition and long-term visions, making this lunar phase all the more stern and no-nonsense.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
27 Sep. 2025
-
In another example of a ruthless campaign to crush dissent, Cuban authorities sentenced the wife of a Cuban political prisoner to 14 years in prison for charges of acting against state security, for which she had been previously acquitted due to lack of evidence.—
Nora Gamez Torres,
Miami Herald,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
In the present day, Lockjaw reenters Bob and Willa’s lives with merciless force, deploying troops from his immigration taskforce on Baktan Cross, the sanctuary city where Bob and Willa have been laying low in the 16 years since Pat became Bob and baby Charlene, Willa, as the two went on the lam.—
Rory Doherty,
Time,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Ana, a rebellious 19-year-old from Barcelona, is sent by her wealthy father to a Patronato facility overseen by the merciless Sister Socorro.—
Callum McLennan,
Variety,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Slash-and-burn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slash-and-burn. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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