Synonyms of slaughter

slaughter 1 of 2

noun

ˈslȯ-tər 

as in massacre

the killing of a large number of people

all civilized nations should protest this senseless slaughter

Synonyms & Similar Words

• massacre
• carnage
• death
• butchery
• genocide
• holocaust
• murder
• bloodbath
• killing
• slaying
• bloodshed
• extermination
• destruction
• mortality
• annihilation
• manslaughter
• homicide
• devastation
• execution
• assassination
• eradication
• bloodletting
• pogrom
• decimation
• foul play
• demolishing

slaughter

2 of 2

verb

as in to massacre

to kill on a large scale

modern poultry farms slaughter a vast number of chickens every day

Synonyms & Similar Words

• massacre
• murder
• butcher
• slay
• assassinate
• destroy
• execute
• dispatch
• mow (down)
• eradicate
• smite
• demolish
• exterminate
• fell
• wipe out
• waste
• annihilate
• snuff
• decimate
• blot out
• do in
• devastate
• croak

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of slaughter

Noun

Ruthye needs someone to avenge the slaughter of her family at the hands of Krem of the Yellow Hills. — Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 25 June 2026

The cabin sat on the banks of the not-so-mighty Potomac, looking north toward Antietam Creek and the great slaughter of September 17, 1862, and on the site of the Battle of Boteler’s Ford, fought two days later. — Christopher Hooks, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026

Verb

Chicken looks cheaper Ranchers have sent cattle to be slaughtered, rather than keeping them to reproduce, because of the severe weather and high prices. — Tom Polansek, USA Today, 2 July 2026

Some 2 million people, nearly a quarter of the population, were slaughtered or starved to death. — Anderson Cooper, CBS News, 28 June 2026