kill 1 of 2

verb

ˈkil How to pronounce kill (audio)
Definition of killnext
1
as in to destroy
to deprive of life during the war more soldiers were killed by disease than anything else

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to dismiss
to reject by or as if by a vote the Senate killed the bill by a single vote

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to delete
to show (something written) to be no longer valid by drawing a cross over or a line through it I think that paragraph is irrelevant, so kill it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to wear
to use up all the physical energy of the long hike up the mountain just about killed us

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in to fascinate
to attract or delight as if by magic with his dark good looks he would positively kill the ladies

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in to deactivate
to cause to stop functioning kill the engine before it overheats

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

kill

2 of 2

noun

1
as in victim

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in race

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How is the word kill distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of kill are assassinate, dispatch, execute, murder, and slay. While all these words mean "to deprive of life," kill merely states the fact of death caused by an agency in any manner.

killed in an accident
frost killed the plants

In what contexts can assassinate take the place of kill?

While in some cases nearly identical to kill, assassinate applies to deliberate killing openly or secretly often for political motives.

terrorists assassinated the Senator

When would dispatch be a good substitute for kill?

While the synonyms dispatch and kill are close in meaning, dispatch stresses quickness and directness in putting to death.

dispatched the sentry with one bullet

When is it sensible to use execute instead of kill?

The meanings of execute and kill largely overlap; however, execute stresses putting to death as a legal penalty.

executed by lethal gas

Where would murder be a reasonable alternative to kill?

The synonyms murder and kill are sometimes interchangeable, but murder specifically implies stealth and motive and premeditation and therefore full moral responsibility.

convicted of murdering a rival

When might slay be a better fit than kill?

In some situations, the words slay and kill are roughly equivalent. However, slay is a chiefly literary term implying deliberateness and violence but not necessarily motive.

slew thousands of the Philistines

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 kill
Verb
And when Jake is distracted and momentarily taken aback after getting a fleeting glance of his nephew, Banner fires two bullets into Clyde before Clyde can kill Jake. —Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 6 Apr. 2025 One person was killed in a shooting Sunday morning in East Baltimore's Darley Park neighborhood, police said. —Matt Hubbard, Baltimore Sun, 6 Apr. 2025
Noun
An 80 percent penalty kill should be plenty attainable (that would be good for 14th in the NHL), but Detroit is at just 69.3 percent for the season. —Max Bultman, The Athletic, 25 Mar. 2025 Florida’s ‘free kill’ law limits who can sue for medical malpractice. —Scott Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel, 25 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for kill
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kill
  1. destroy
  2. dismiss
  3. delete
  4. wear
  5. fascinate
  6. deactivate
  7. victim
  8. race
Verb
  • Many of the early hires were believed to be young tech engineers with little to no government experience, prompting criticism from Democrats and unions that critical government services and systems would be cut or destroyed.
    — Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2025
  • The Palisades and Eaton fires burned more than 40,000 acres and destroyed at least 12,000 buildings.
    — Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Definition of destroy
Verb
  • In film school, games and anime aren’t celebrated, they’re dismissed.
    — Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
  • The company filed two motions to dismiss the case, one for lack of jurisdiction and the other on grounds that consumer fraud laws do not govern editorial speech.
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 7 Apr. 2025
Definition of dismiss
Verb
  • During the stream, which has since been deleted and re-uploaded by fans, Kiss of Life wore oversized chains, snapback hats, cornrows and large hoop earrings.
    — Jack Irvin, People.com, 8 Apr. 2025
  • It has also been deleted from Reddit by moderators but has shared with Newsweek by the dad who first uploaded it.
    — Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025
Definition of delete
Verb
  • Among the Trump administration’s demands on Columbia University in return for restoring $400 million in funding was a ban on masks, which many peaceful protesters wear not to menace others but to avoid being identified by facial recognition.
    — Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2025
  • To be fair, goalies wore more modern-day uniforms in Gretzky's final seasons, and two years before Ovechkin entered the NHL, the length of goalie pads was limited to 38 inches.
    — Jim Sergent, USA Today, 5 Apr. 2025
Definition of wear
Verb
  • Football content creator Will Powell — better known by his social media pseudonym, Bryan’s Gunn — has always been fascinated by the linguistic quirks and tropes of football.
    — James McNicholas, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2025
  • Laura is particularly fascinated by all things aquatic, paleontology, nanotechnology, and exploring how science influences daily life.
    — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 3 Apr. 2025
Definition of fascinate
Verb
  • Per multiple outlets, including InStyle and Cosmopolitan, her husband Justin Bieber's Instagram account got deactivated (then reactivated) after going live on the app, and in the wake of that, Hailey appeared to unfollow the singer from her own profile.
    — Michelle Lee, People.com, 1 Apr. 2025
  • Hoover spoke out in support of Blake at the end of last year, but then deactivated her Instagram in January and returned with photos of the cast of the film scrubbed from her account.
    — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 21 Mar. 2025
Definition of deactivate
Noun
  • Once identified, the kit dynamically loads a counterfeit login page tailored to that provider, often with the victim’s email address already filled in.
    — Alex Vakulov, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
  • The gallery was filled with the victim’s friends, colleagues and family.
    — Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Mar. 2025
Definition of victim
Noun
  • FanDuel Racing has race previews, analysis and picks.
    — Jay Ginsbach, Forbes.com, 5 Apr. 2025
  • New Democrats who defect will likely support Mark Carney of the Liberal Party, who is in a neck-and-neck race against Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party.
    — Vjosa Isai, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025
Definition of race

Phrases Containing kill

Browse Nearby Words

kilderkins
kill
killed
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Kill.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kill. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on kill

Nglish: Translation of kill for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about kill

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Words in Disguise: Do these seem familiar?

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

'When Pigs Fly' and Other Barnyard Idioms

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things
See More

Popular

See More

Words in Disguise: Do these seem familiar?

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

'When Pigs Fly' and Other Barnyard Idioms
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a game of hangman on lined paper
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All