as in murder
the intentional and unlawful taking of another person's life
a man wanted for the slaying of seven people during an armed robbery
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in killing
to deprive of life
millions have been slain worldwide by this dreadful disease
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in murdering
to put to death deliberately
vowed to slay without mercy whoever was responsible for murdering his family
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 slaying
Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 28 Feb. 2026
Kirn Young Kim, then 16, wasn’t in the garage where his friends beat 17-year-old Stuart Tay to death at a Buena Park home, a brutal slaying that drew international attention.
—Sean Emery, Oc Register, 27 Feb. 2026
Ben Church, CNN Money, 18 Dec. 2025
Reeves is currently on Broadway with his Bill & Ted co-star Alex Winter, slaying in Waiting for Godot at the Hudson Theatre.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for slaying
Noun
Surveillance cameras recorded the slaying.
—Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 28 Feb. 2026
Kirn Young Kim, then 16, wasn’t in the garage where his friends beat 17-year-old Stuart Tay to death at a Buena Park home, a brutal slaying that drew international attention.
—Sean Emery, Oc Register, 27 Feb. 2026
Verb
Now, the roles are reversed and he’s tasked with slaying the giant.
—Ben Church, CNN Money, 18 Dec. 2025
Reeves is currently on Broadway with his Bill & Ted co-star Alex Winter, slaying in Waiting for Godot at the Hudson Theatre.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for slaying
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slaying
Noun
-
Emails obtained by Fox 5 DC and WJLA-TV show that the Fairfax County Police Department had warned Descano’s office multiple times about Jalloh in the months leading up to Minter’s murder.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Mar. 2026
-
She is charged with murder and criminal obstruction of breathing.—
Rebecca White,
New York Daily News,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Three glide bombs struck the center of the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, killing four people, the head of the Donetsk regional military administration, Vadym Filashkin, said Tuesday.—
HANNA ARHIROVA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Most of the strikes occur in the summer, killing 20 people each year, according to the NWS.—
STAR-TELEGRAM WEATHER BOT,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
And Bill Clinton took military action in 1999 to stop mass-murdering Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic.—
Betsy McCaughey,
Boston Herald,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Huntley denied murdering the two 10-year-olds, but was convicted after a trial at London's Central Criminal Court in 2003.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
7 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
One of the handguns expelled the casing found at the scene of the homicide, Wolf’s lawyer stipulated at a preliminary hearing.—
Matthew Ormseth,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Mar. 2026
-
The shooting is being investigated as a homicide, and a person of interest has not been identified.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The beams would be far brighter than the full moon and, even if carefully pointed, would scatter in the atmosphere to be very bright off-beam, disrupting wildlife and effectively destroying the sky’s remaining natural beauty by erasing the stars from our sight.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
6 Mar. 2026
-
An estimated 50,000 pounds of ice collapsed the sanctuary roof, destroying nearly everything.—
Marvin Hurst,
CBS News,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The presiding judge in the case against Tyler Robinson, accused of assassinating conservative icon Charlie Kirk last September, will rule on a critical defense motion today.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Harry Jacobs, who was recently named head of the office's criminal division, was also involved in the prosecution of Vance Boelter, the man accused of assassinating former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark.—
Sarah N. Lynch,
CBS News,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
While some agencies dominate headlines with splashy launches, JAXA often works with a quiet precision that suddenly produces something extraordinary — a spacecraft touching down on an asteroid, a lunar lander executing a daring maneuver, or a new instrument revealing the universe in sharper detail.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
3 Mar. 2026
-
And imagine nations commanding drone swarms and robot dog packs capable of making decisions and executing missions without human intervention.—
Eric Schmidt,
Time,
3 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Slaying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slaying. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
