1
as in inferno
a destructive burning
the holocaust caused by the ignited chemicals completely destroyed the factory and several surrounding homes
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2
as in massacre
the killing of a large number of people
as many as 2,000,000 people may have perished in the holocaust perpetrated by Cambodia's Khmer Rouge
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of holocaust
In the 1950s, the success of the Manhattan Project, combined with the emerging U.S.-Soviet rivalry, created the novel threat of a worldwide nuclear holocaust.
—
Daniel Deudney, Foreign Affairs, 14 June 2018
Soon after, the same broadcaster commissioned a holocaust series featuring a majority white cast.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2024
The theory gets its name from the 1984 Arnold Schwarzenegger film, where a cyborg travels back in time to kill a woman whose unborn son will fight against an AI system slated to spark a nuclear holocaust.
—Dylan Sloan, Fortune, 21 May 2024
His predecessor had started seizing the high ground in the nuclear age with bold ideas for controlling these diabolical weapons, and other presidents would continue, in time leading to arms-control and test-ban treaties, and helping (so far) to avert nuclear holocaust.
—Andreas Kluth, The Mercury News, 29 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for holocaust 
Daniel Deudney, Foreign Affairs, 14 June 2018
Soon after, the same broadcaster commissioned a holocaust series featuring a majority white cast.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2024
The theory gets its name from the 1984 Arnold Schwarzenegger film, where a cyborg travels back in time to kill a woman whose unborn son will fight against an AI system slated to spark a nuclear holocaust.
—Dylan Sloan, Fortune, 21 May 2024
His predecessor had started seizing the high ground in the nuclear age with bold ideas for controlling these diabolical weapons, and other presidents would continue, in time leading to arms-control and test-ban treaties, and helping (so far) to avert nuclear holocaust.
—Andreas Kluth, The Mercury News, 29 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for holocaust
Recent Examples of Synonyms for holocaust
Noun
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This inferno killed at least 12 people, both civilians and firefighters.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
Newsweek,
1 Feb. 2025
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Most of all, the recurring visions of flames and matches that flicker through the depraved fever dreams of Wild at Heart (1990), a movie in which incandescent imagery looms so large that the opening credits unfold against an inferno of Halloween-orange flames.—
Zach Schonfeld,
Vulture,
31 Jan. 2025
Noun
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One wonders: Would teaching the Tulsa massacre be allowed?—
Alec MacGillis,
ProPublica,
6 Feb. 2025
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The plan seeks to create a level 1 trauma hospital in the area and name it after Dr. A.C. Jackson, a Black surgeon killed during the massacre.—
Russell Contreras,
Axios,
4 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The feature was added just days before the Palisades fire erupted.—
Corinne Purtill,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Feb. 2025
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The Critics Choice Awards, which was initially scheduled to take place at the beginning of January, was postponed due to the Los Angeles fires.—
Lori A Bashian Fox News,
Fox News,
8 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Any number of genre films now turn on unsuspecting characters receiving coveted invites from charismatic neo-barons to their remote compounds for luxury, decadence, and ornate slaughter or some variation thereof.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
28 Jan. 2025
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Farmers there must submit an odor and pest control plan to the county and can build no more than four barns holding egg-laying hens or eight houses for raising chickens for slaughter.—
Gavin Off,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near holocaust
Cite this Entry
“Holocaust.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/holocaust. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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