kill 1 of 2

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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

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kill

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noun

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
Jones was also integral on special teams, running Florida’s top power-play unit and getting significant time on the penalty kill. Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2025 Six years thinking about ordinary beings as an authoritarian regime comes in for the kill. Dan Gilroy, Deadline, 19 Sep. 2025
Noun
Southport's public information officer said a boat with a single occupant on the Cape Fear River paused briefly in front of the restaurant and opened fire, killing three patrons and injuring multiple others. Bradford Betz, FOXNews.com, 28 Sep. 2025 Three people were killed and at least eight others injured on Saturday after a boat briefly stopped near the American Fish Company restaurant in North Carolina and opened fire, according to the Southport Police Department. Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for kill
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kill
Verb
  • Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a five-floor apartment building in the Solomyanskyi district was partially destroyed and caught fire.
    David Brennan, ABC News, 28 Sep. 2025
  • Mexico built a hydroelectric dam, where these golden barrel cactuses live and in an instant their environment was destroyed and this species was almost wiped out.
    Eyder Peralta, NPR, 28 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Once the contestants are dismissed from the runway, the judges get more into it.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
  • Defense attorneys for the man accused of killing his Miami Hurricanes football star teammate in 2006 want prosecutors sanctioned — or the murder case dismissed — after a key witness, who state prosecutors believed was dead, was found alive by an ESPN reporter.
    Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Click the right arrow and mark as known or delete the spam.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 27 Sep. 2025
  • The student cited a study that was recently deleted by the Department of Justice, which decisively stated that right-wing political violence is much more common than left-wing violence, on which Kirk's assassination has been blamed.
    Michael Nied, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Johnson styled it simply with some silver and black cocktail rings, wearing her signature bangs and waist-length hair long and loose.
    Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 26 Sep. 2025
  • The contestants come out wearing their final looks, and Michael Kors says that everyone’s collections were thoughtful and well-constructed, and then the judging begins.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Europe, with its rich past, had fascinated many of its colonial subjects.
    Pankaj Mishra, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
  • David Martill, professor emeritus at the Institute of the Earth and Environment at the University of Portsmouth, was fascinated by the study and UV images.
    Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Once stationary, deactivate all lights except the hazard flashers, engage the emergency brake, and release the brake pedal to ensure your tail lights remain unlit, minimizing the chance of other drivers colliding with your stationary vehicle.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 28 Sep. 2025
  • In True’s case, he was activated and then deactivated, and there are surely many more such men who can be manipulated into the same violence.
    Scott Tobias, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Indonesia’s National Agency for Disaster Management said in a statement that 77 victims were taken to hospitals for treatment.
    Britt Clennett, ABC News, 30 Sep. 2025
  • To Dan Gilleon, who represented many of Fischer’s victims in civil court, those cases are evidence of how much higher the true public costs of litigation against the county are.
    Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The app can help connect patients with volunteers who have the same cancer experience and similar background including diagnosis, location, race and ethnicity.
    Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Previous polls had shown Spanberger ahead by wider margins, signaling a tightening race over the past month.
    Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Kill.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kill. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.

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