as in massacre
the killing of a large number of people
all civilized nations should protest this senseless slaughter
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in to massacre
to kill on a large scale
modern poultry farms slaughter a vast number of chickens every day
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of slaughter
Philissa Cramer, Sun Sentinel, 16 Feb. 2026
Now, those animals can cost as much as $1,500 as buyers hoover up calves to fatten them for slaughter.
—Enda Curran, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2026
Kayti Burt, Time, 14 Jan. 2026
She was convicted and fined five times in French courts of inciting racial hatred, in incidents inspired by her opposition to the Muslim practice of slaughtering sheep during annual religious holidays.
—CBS News, 28 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for slaughter
Noun
In 2024, Europe’s top court upheld a ban in most of the country against kosher slaughter, which its critics contend is inhumane to animals.
—Philissa Cramer, Sun Sentinel, 16 Feb. 2026
Now, those animals can cost as much as $1,500 as buyers hoover up calves to fatten them for slaughter.
—Enda Curran, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2026
Verb
When his battalion was mostly slaughtered in a bombing by their American allies, Ki-tae was forced to take the blame for the unnecessary deaths.
—Kayti Burt, Time, 14 Jan. 2026
She was convicted and fined five times in French courts of inciting racial hatred, in incidents inspired by her opposition to the Muslim practice of slaughtering sheep during annual religious holidays.
—CBS News, 28 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for slaughter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slaughter
Noun
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In 1996, former President Chun Doo-hwan, an army major general, was convicted for seizing power in a 1979 military coup and presiding over the 1980 Gwangju massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
19 Feb. 2026
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The performance and video series addresses femicide killings of trans and gay people in South Africa as well as the Herero and Nama massacre conducted by German colonial forces in the 1900s in what is now Namibia.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The development appears to confirm accusations from Navalny’s widow and others that he was murdered by Russian authorities seeking to eliminate a threat to President Vladimir Putin.—
Emily Hallas,
The Washington Examiner,
14 Feb. 2026
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Al-Qaeda murdered nearly 3,000 Americans on 9/11.—
Josef Joffe,
The Atlantic,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Slaughter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slaughter. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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