as in slaughters
the killing of a large number of people
the infamous massacre of more than 200 Sioux at Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in murders
to kill on a large scale
the country's rival ethnic groups began massacring one another
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 massacres
CBS News,
29 June 2026
The massacres, which resulted in the deaths of roughly 100,000 Polish civilians, are officially classified as a genocide by Warsaw, a characterization Kyiv denies.
—
Lidia Kurasinska,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2026
The lands historically now known as Ukraine were occupied by the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth for centuries, and many Ukrainians view their nation’s genesis as the rebellion of Cossack Hetman Boghdan Khmelnitsky against the commonwealth, an event characterized by massacres of Poles and Jews.
—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
20 June 2026
Tens of thousands of Sudanese civilians were killed by the RSF in massacres after the capture of the Sudanese city of El Fasher alone last year.
—
Kate Bartlett,
NPR,
9 June 2026
Most significantly, Lepore found that readers wanted to know the full story of their country—the progress and the revanchism, the beauty and the ugliness, the racial massacres and the Indian New Deal.
—
Yoni Appelbaum,
The Atlantic,
8 June 2026
Regions like Tigray, Amhara, and Oromia remain ravaged by active warfare, massacres, and mass displacement.
—
Nimi Princewill,
CNN Money,
31 May 2026
The government began forming paramilitary groups that were responsible for countless massacres.
—
Roberto Andrés,
The Dial,
28 May 2026
Richard is implied to be Hutu, though his family are never suggested to have participated in or supported the massacres.
—
Josh Slater-Williams,
IndieWire,
19 May 2026
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
25 Aug. 2025
Noun
The issue has been particularly salient for low-income families living near fields of coca, the shrub used to make cocaine, as human rights organizations documented more than 50 massacres in Colombia just this year.
—
CBS News,
29 June 2026
The massacres, which resulted in the deaths of roughly 100,000 Polish civilians, are officially classified as a genocide by Warsaw, a characterization Kyiv denies.
—
Lidia Kurasinska,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2026
The lands historically now known as Ukraine were occupied by the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth for centuries, and many Ukrainians view their nation’s genesis as the rebellion of Cossack Hetman Boghdan Khmelnitsky against the commonwealth, an event characterized by massacres of Poles and Jews.
—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
20 June 2026
Tens of thousands of Sudanese civilians were killed by the RSF in massacres after the capture of the Sudanese city of El Fasher alone last year.
—
Kate Bartlett,
NPR,
9 June 2026
Most significantly, Lepore found that readers wanted to know the full story of their country—the progress and the revanchism, the beauty and the ugliness, the racial massacres and the Indian New Deal.
—
Yoni Appelbaum,
The Atlantic,
8 June 2026
Regions like Tigray, Amhara, and Oromia remain ravaged by active warfare, massacres, and mass displacement.
—
Nimi Princewill,
CNN Money,
31 May 2026
The government began forming paramilitary groups that were responsible for countless massacres.
—
Roberto Andrés,
The Dial,
28 May 2026
Richard is implied to be Hutu, though his family are never suggested to have participated in or supported the massacres.
—
Josh Slater-Williams,
IndieWire,
19 May 2026
Verb
The Polish government considers the Volhynia and Galicia massacres a genocide, and holds Bandera equal in infamy to Nazi war criminals of the same era.
—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
25 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for massacres
Noun
-
Hands-down one of the most disgusting movies ever made (a compliment), the film finds the indefatigable slasher, who was decapitated at the end of Terrifier 2, reattaching his head and commencing his ritual slaughters.
Verb
-
Moriarty has reported on the yogurt shop murders for over 30 years.
-
Not the family stuff, like Natalie’s spontaneous nipple piercing after making out with Cady’s maybe-daughter, Nevaeh (Malia Pyles), who later murders her own mother after kissing her, for way too long, on the mouth.
Noun
-
In 2024, roughly 48,800 Americans died by suicide, a slight decrease from the peak of nearly 49,500 deaths in this manner in 2022.
-
The Consumer Product Safety Commission also estimated that, in 2024, there were approximately 14,700 fireworks injuries and 11 deaths, marking a 50% increase over the year before.
Cite this Entry
“Massacres.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/massacres. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
