as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
under his slash-and-burn management ethic, even longtime employees were summarily downsized for the sake of corporate competitiveness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 slash-and-burn
The scale and suddenness of this offer is unprecedented in the federal government but typical of slash-and-burn management practices espoused by Trump and his efficiency czar, Elon Musk.
—
Christopher Wong Michaelson and Jennifer Tosti-Kharas, TIME, 6 Feb. 2025
The Roberts Court’s slash-and-burn approach to the separation of church and state is unlikely to end any time soon.
—Ian Millhiser, Vox, 28 Jan. 2025
The 2024 holidays were incessantly interrupted by slash-and-burn politics, from the ongoing furor over President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial Cabinet picks to the budget crisis at Chicago’s City Hall and the battle to deep-six the Chicago Public Schools chief.
—Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 8 Jan. 2025
In today’s newsletter, Jon Lee Anderson reports on the slash-and-burn austerity measures in Argentina that have earned admiration from Trump acolytes.
—Hannah Jocelyn, The New Yorker, 3 Dec. 2024
Among individual farmers, insecure land tenure encourages the use of slash-and-burn practices, which has led to large-scale deforestation in the rainforests of Brazil and Indonesia.
—Chris Jochnick, Foreign Affairs, 7 Feb. 2017
Consider Sophea, a farmer from one of the 29 villages, who once relied on slash-and-burn agriculture, depleting soil and causing deforestation in the area.
—Suwanna Gauntlett, Forbes, 1 Dec. 2024
Musk’s general concern about the nation’s multi-trillion dollar debt reflects worry among many economists, and his slash-and-burn rhetoric mirrors that of close ally President-elect Donald Trump.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 26 Nov. 2024
The result was a land rush, during which short-term profiteering from slash-and-burn agriculture prevented anything resembling sustainable development.
—Jeff Tollefson, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2013
Christopher Wong Michaelson and Jennifer Tosti-Kharas, TIME, 6 Feb. 2025
The Roberts Court’s slash-and-burn approach to the separation of church and state is unlikely to end any time soon.
—Ian Millhiser, Vox, 28 Jan. 2025
The 2024 holidays were incessantly interrupted by slash-and-burn politics, from the ongoing furor over President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial Cabinet picks to the budget crisis at Chicago’s City Hall and the battle to deep-six the Chicago Public Schools chief.
—Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 8 Jan. 2025
In today’s newsletter, Jon Lee Anderson reports on the slash-and-burn austerity measures in Argentina that have earned admiration from Trump acolytes.
—Hannah Jocelyn, The New Yorker, 3 Dec. 2024
Among individual farmers, insecure land tenure encourages the use of slash-and-burn practices, which has led to large-scale deforestation in the rainforests of Brazil and Indonesia.
—Chris Jochnick, Foreign Affairs, 7 Feb. 2017
Consider Sophea, a farmer from one of the 29 villages, who once relied on slash-and-burn agriculture, depleting soil and causing deforestation in the area.
—Suwanna Gauntlett, Forbes, 1 Dec. 2024
Musk’s general concern about the nation’s multi-trillion dollar debt reflects worry among many economists, and his slash-and-burn rhetoric mirrors that of close ally President-elect Donald Trump.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 26 Nov. 2024
The result was a land rush, during which short-term profiteering from slash-and-burn agriculture prevented anything resembling sustainable development.
—Jeff Tollefson, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2013
Thesaurus Entries Near slash-and-burn
Cite this Entry
“Slash-and-burn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slash-and-burn. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share