Synonyms of slaughter

slaughter 1 of 2

noun

ˈslȯ-tər 

as in massacre

the killing of a large number of people

all civilized nations should protest this senseless slaughter

Synonyms & Similar Words

• massacre
• carnage
• death
• butchery
• genocide
• holocaust
• murder
• bloodbath
• killing
• slaying
• bloodshed
• extermination
• destruction
• mortality
• annihilation
• manslaughter
• homicide
• devastation
• execution
• assassination
• eradication
• bloodletting
• pogrom
• decimation
• foul play
• demolishing

slaughter

2 of 2

verb

as in to massacre

to kill on a large scale

modern poultry farms slaughter a vast number of chickens every day

Synonyms & Similar Words

• massacre
• murder
• butcher
• slay
• assassinate
• destroy
• execute
• dispatch
• mow (down)
• eradicate
• smite
• demolish
• exterminate
• fell
• wipe out
• waste
• annihilate
• snuff
• decimate
• blot out
• do in
• devastate
• croak

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of slaughter

Noun

Infections have led to the death and slaughter of more than 633 million poultry birds worldwide between 2005 and 2024, according to the World Animal Health Information System, which tracks official data on epidemiologically important diseases. —Karen Kucher, Mercury News, 24 Mar. 2025

The whole midsection of Death of a Unicorn involves killing time until the slaughter starts, and the actual unicorn-menace sequence amounts to a sub-tier Jurassic Park knockoff. —Alison Willmore, Vulture, 11 Mar. 2025

Verb

Banquo will be made a ghost and Lady Macduff and her children will be slaughtered in their castle. —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2025

An anti-Israel fervor has swept through Hollywood since Hamas invaded Israel 17 months ago, slaughtering more than 1,200 men, women, and children and taking 251 as hostages. —Haley Strack, National Review, 13 Mar. 2025