Synonyms of massacre

massacre 1 of 2

noun

ˈma-si-kər 

as in slaughter

the killing of a large number of people

the infamous massacre of more than 200 Sioux at Wounded Knee, South Dakota

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

massacre

2 of 2

verb

as in to slaughter

to kill on a large scale

the country's rival ethnic groups began massacring one another

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of massacre

Noun

Grandfather calls shooting 'a massacre' The boy’s grandfather, Vicente Peña, spoke to WMAQ-TV in Spanish and said the shooting has wrecked their family. —Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 2 Jan. 2025

In an impassioned speech following the massacre, Red Cloud, the leader of the Oglala Lakota whom the Miniconjou wished to ask for protection, offered a fuller explanation. —Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Dec. 2024

Verb

One of her former students, Seung-Hui Cho, massacred 32 students and teachers on the campus in April 2007. —Amber Hunt, The Enquirer, 10 Dec. 2024

But his most prominent role as the patriarch of the Wagner family was as the alleged author of the plot to massacre a neighboring family. —Patricia Gallagher Newberry, The Enquirer, 12 Dec. 2024