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slay

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of slay

1 to deprive of life
  • millions have been slain worldwide by this dreadful disease
Synonyms of slay

carry off, claim, croak [slang], destroy, dispatch, do in, fell, kill, take
Words Related to slay

bump off, butcher, cut down, finish, get, ice [slang], knock off, murder, neutralize, off [slang], put away, rub out, scrag, snuff, take out, waste, whack [slang]

annihilate, blot out, decimate, kill off, massacre, mow, slaughter, smite

assassinate, execute, martyr, terminate

euthanize (also euthanatize), put down

suicide
Phrases Synonymous with slay

do away with, do for [chiefly British], make away with
Near Antonyms of slay

raise, restore, resurrect, resuscitate, revive

nurture
Antonyms of slay

animate
2 to put to death deliberately
  • vowed to slay without mercy whoever was responsible for murdering his family
Synonyms of slay

assassinate, bump off, croak [slang], dispatch, do in, execute, get, ice [slang], knock off, liquidate, murder, neutralize, off [slang], put away, rub out, snuff, take out, terminate, whack [slang]
Words Related to slay

blow away, shoot, shoot down

blot out, carry off, claim, cut down, destroy, fell, kill, smite, zap

butcher, massacre, mow (down), slaughter

annihilate, eliminate, eradicate, exterminate, wipe out
Phrases Synonymous with slay

do away with
Near Antonyms of slay

animate, raise, restore, resurrect, resuscitate, revive

Synonym Discussion of slay

kill, slay, murder, assassinate, dispatch, execute mean to deprive of life. kill merely states the fact of death caused by an agency in any manner.
    • killed in an accident
    • frost killed the plants
slay is a chiefly literary term implying deliberateness and violence but not necessarily motive.
    • slew thousands of the Philistines
murder specifically implies stealth and motive and premeditation and therefore full moral responsibility.
    • convicted of murdering a rival
assassinate applies to deliberate killing openly or secretly often for political motives.
    • terrorists assassinated the Senator
dispatch stresses quickness and directness in putting to death.
    • dispatched the sentry with one bullet
execute stresses putting to death as a legal penalty.
    • executed by lethal gas

Learn More about slay

  1. See words that rhyme with slay Dictionary: Definition of slay Spanish Central: Translation of slay Nglish: Translation of slay for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of slay for Arabic speakers

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