massacre

1 of 2

noun

mas·​sa·​cre ˈma-si-kər How to pronounce massacre (audio)
Synonyms of massacrenext
1
: the act or an instance of killing a number of usually helpless or unresisting human beings under circumstances of atrocity or cruelty
witnessed the massacre of a boatload of refugees
2
: a cruel or wanton (see wanton entry 1 sense 1a) murder
3
: a wholesale slaughter of animals
Residents engaged in a citywide cat massacre.
4
: an act of complete destruction
the author's massacre of traditional federalist presuppositions— R. G. McCloskey
the Puritan massacre of statues and pictures— Robert Hughes

massacre

2 of 2

verb

massacred; massacring ˈma-si-k(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce massacre (audio)

transitive verb

1
: to kill by massacre
2
: mangle sense 2
words were misspelled and syntax massacred— Bice Clemow
massacrer
ˈma-si-kər-ər How to pronounce massacre (audio)
-krər
noun

Synonyms

Noun

Verb

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of massacre in a Sentence

Noun The game turned out to be a complete massacre. the infamous massacre of more than 200 Sioux at Wounded Knee, South Dakota Verb Hundreds have been massacred in the uprising. The other team really massacred us on Saturday. He really massacred that song.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Noun
There remains some debate over whether the attack led by John Mason, a Connecticut Colony founder honored with a statue in a niche on the Capitol, can be celebrated as Pequot War victory or a criminal massacre of women and children. — Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 15 Mar. 2025 The Orlando City Council last month endorsed a design for a memorial unanimously approved by the Pulse Memorial Advisory Committee, which included relatives of the 49 people who died in the massacre and some members who had visited the club that horrible night in June 2016. — Stephen Hudak, Orlando Sentinel, 13 Mar. 2025
Verb
The first season ended with Joel making the shocking decision to massacre a group of Fireflies, who planned to use Elle's immunity to make a cure for the infection but at the cost of her life. — Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2025 Combat can often be janky, with some weapons feeling floaty and imprecise, enemies sometimes bugging out, frozen in place for the party to massacre. — Hayes Madsen, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for massacre

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle French

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1578, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1581, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of massacre was circa 1578

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massacre
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Cite this Entry

“Massacre.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/massacre. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.

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Kids Definition

massacre

1 of 2 verb
mas·​sa·​cre ˈmas-i-kər How to pronounce massacre (audio)
massacred; massacring
-k(ə-)riŋ
: to kill in a massacre : slaughter
massacrer
-i-kər-ər
-i-krər
noun

massacre

2 of 2 noun
: the violent and cruel killing of a number of persons

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