Synonyms of slaughter

slaughter 1 of 2

noun

ˈslȯ-tər 

as in massacre

the killing of a large number of people

all civilized nations should protest this senseless slaughter

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

slaughter

2 of 2

verb

as in to massacre

to kill on a large scale

modern poultry farms slaughter a vast number of chickens every day

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of slaughter

Noun

Dylan Holloway scored to pad St. Louis’ lead, and Fowler’s goal with 2 minutes and 9 seconds left in the second period turned the game into an unsightly slaughter for such a scenic venue. —Phil Thompson, Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan. 2025

The date marked the slaughter of hundreds of Lakota, including women and children, in the snow at Wounded Knee Creek by the 7th Cavalry on Dec. 29, 1890. —Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 29 Dec. 2024

Verb

Cows that contract the disease must be slaughtered, at significant cost to the farmer. —Anna Russell, The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2025

Whaling was so intense for several decades in the 20th century that in many species, almost all of the large, old whales were probably slaughtered, says ecologist Greg Breed of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. —Bymitch Leslie, science.org, 20 Dec. 2024