Synonyms of massacre

massacre 1 of 2

noun

ˈma-si-kər 

as in slaughter

the killing of a large number of people

the infamous massacre of more than 200 Sioux at Wounded Knee, South Dakota

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

massacre

2 of 2

verb

as in to slaughter

to kill on a large scale

the country's rival ethnic groups began massacring one another

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of massacre

Noun

Reports of the massacre in the settlement of about 2,000 reached the world through the testimonies of survivors who fled to neighboring Bangladesh. — Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 15 Sep. 2026

The wars, weddings, births, massacres, famines, our triumphs, our defeats, our past. — Rafael Motamayor, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026

Verb

Soon after, in January, security forces massacred thousands of Iranian protesters with military-style weapons. — Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026

Then one day, Giuliano (now played by an excellent Romeo Perrone) comes home to discover all the animals massacred and his father gone. — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 12 Aug. 2026