Synonyms of slaying

slaying 1 of 2

noun

ˈslā-iŋ 

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

• murder
• homicide
• killing
• blood
• massacre
• foul play
• slaughter
• rubout
• assassination
• execution
• manslaughter
• bloodshed
• destruction
• carnage
• butchery
• decimation
• hit
• mercy killing
• euthanasia
• regicide
• parricide
• matricide
• chance-medley
• fratricide
• patricide
• filicide
• uxoricide

slaying

2 of 2

verb

present participle of slay

1

as in killing

to deprive of life

millions have been slain worldwide by this dreadful disease

Synonyms & Similar Words

• killing
• destroying
• murdering
• dispatching
• slaughtering
• claiming
• taking
• felling
• carrying off
• doing for
• assassinating
• doing away with
• croaking
• doing in
• massacring
• butchering
• neutralizing
• finishing
• smiting
• wasting
• cutting down
• executing
• making away with
• snuffing
• annihilating
• whacking
• offing
• decimating
• mowing
• taking out
• killing off
• getting
• putting away
• terminating
• knocking off
• blotting out
• icing
• bumping off
• scragging
• martyring
• rubbing out
• euthanizing
• putting down
• suiciding

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• animating
• raising
• restoring
• reviving
• resurrecting
• nurturing
• resuscitating

2

as in murdering

to put to death deliberately

vowed to slay without mercy whoever was responsible for murdering his family

Synonyms & Similar Words

• murdering
• assassinating
• killing
• executing
• dispatching
• slaughtering
• neutralizing
• getting
• whacking
• shooting
• destroying
• snuffing
• terminating
• liquidating
• offing
• taking out
• putting away
• doing away with
• doing in
• croaking
• knocking off
• icing
• bumping off
• rubbing out
• smiting
• claiming
• massacring
• cutting down
• butchering
• eliminating
• eradicating
• shooting down
• blowing away
• zapping
• felling
• carrying off
• exterminating
• blotting out
• annihilating
• mowing (down)
• wiping out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• raising
• restoring
• reviving
• animating
• resurrecting
• resuscitating

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of slaying

Noun

But Hohimer himself implicated another burglar, Frederick Malchow, in the slaying. — Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 7 Aug. 2026

Police have arrested two men in connection with a slaying in New Haven in 2024 where investigators believe a man was followed and gunned down on a dirt bike. — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 5 Aug. 2026

Verb

An Oregon man was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison for a November 1981 Griffith cold case slaying. — Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 16 July 2026

In that case, authorities believe the mother was responsible for slaying the family and then killing herself. — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026