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
Last spring, as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency employed slash-and-burn tactics to bring federal agencies to heel, local farm service centers in Kansas were hit especially hard.
—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
17 June 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
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
17 June 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slash-and-burn
Adjective
-
Natural selection is usually ruthless about weeding out traits with no function.
-
Supergirl builds to a final showdown with Krem of the Yellow Hills, the ruthless Brigands leader who murdered Ruthye’s family and poisoned Krypto early in the film.
Adjective
-
The poem that precedes it, the Iliad, is a cruel and beautiful work, the ultimate story of war; the Odyssey has its warlike passages, but its central energies seem almost commonplace beside the merciless fury of Achilles.
-
Humility is the posture; the standard is merciless.
Cite this Entry
“Slash-and-burn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slash-and-burn. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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