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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 slash-and-burn
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slash-and-burn
Adjective
-
Lydia, naturally, has her own reasons for pairing Agnes and Daisy together, evolving from a ruthless zealot and disciplinarian in Handmaid’s Tale into a kind of double agent looking to overthrow Gilead from within the hallowed halls of power in Testaments, as the finale set her up to do.—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Mar. 2026
-
After enduring a tough patch in business, fate changes his course, turning him into El Serpiente, a ruthless political strategist.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Waltz lends a slimy charisma to the merciless SS colonel, who gets a satisfying comeuppance via carving knife.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
4 Mar. 2026
-
These are two of the most conniving, merciless people on television, and they’re bonded by the twin desire to be more like the other.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Slash-and-burn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slash-and-burn. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
