Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The act or an instance of killing a large number of humans indiscriminately and cruelly.
- n. The slaughter of a large number of animals.
- n. Informal A severe defeat, as in a sports event.
- v. To kill indiscriminately and wantonly; slaughter.
- v. Informal To defeat decisively.
- v. Informal To botch; bungle: massacred the French language trying to order dinner.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The indiscriminate killing of human beings; the unnecessary slaughter of a number of persons, as in barbarous warfare or persecution, or for revenge or plunder: as, the massacre of Glencoe: sometimes applied also to the wholesale killing of wild animals.
- n. In heraldry, a pair of antlers or attires attached to a piece of the skull, used as a bearing.
- To kill with attendant circumstances of atrocity; butcher; slaughter: commonly used in reference to the killing of a large number of human beings at once, who are not in a condition to defend themselves.
- Synonyms Murder, Slaughter, etc. See kill.
Wiktionary
- n. The intentional killing of a considerable number of human beings, under circumstances of atrocity or cruelty, or contrary to the norms of civilized people.
- n. obsolete Murder.
- v. transitive To kill in considerable numbers where much resistance can not be made; to kill with indiscriminate violence, without necessity, and contrary to the norms of civilized people; to butcher; to slaughter. (Often limited to the killing of human beings.)
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The killing of a considerable number of human beings under circumstances of atrocity or cruelty, or contrary to the usages of civilized people.
- n. obsolete Murder.
- v. To kill in considerable numbers where much resistance can not be made; to kill with indiscriminate violence, without necessity, and contrary to the usages of nations; to butcher; to slaughter; -- limited to the killing of human beings.
WordNet 3.0
- v. kill a large number of people indiscriminately
- n. the savage and excessive killing of many people
Etymologies
- French, from Old French macecle, macecre, butchery, shambles. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“For a discussion of the word massacre and Marlowe, see Graham Hammill, “Time for Marlowe,” ELH, vol. 75, no.”
“They very idea that serving gays could have have resulted in a massacre is an incredible statement.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Add Bad Ethics to the Problems of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”?
“Meanwhile, rebels have warned of what they call a "massacre" in the western city of Misrata unless NATO provides them more support against government forces.”
Voice of America: Air Strikes Hit Libya As Diplomats Consider Options
“Rebels in Libya are warning of what they call a "massacre" in the western city of Misrata unless NATO provides them more support against government forces.”
Voice of America: Libyan Rebels Make Desperate Plea for Stronger NATO Action
“Anti-government rebels said at least 23 people were killed and many more wounded in what they called a "massacre" in Libya's third-largest city.”
Voice of America: Allies Vow to Push Libya Campaign Until Gadhafi Goes
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem by denouncing what he described as the "massacre" taking place in Libya.”
Voice of America: Libyan Unrest Tops Agenda at Israeli Cabinet Meeting
“To me this massacre is a reminder that women are vulnerable to the rage of mentally-ill psychopaths, and that men have a responsibility to protect them.”
“As he was meeting with Prime Minister Sharon, the Palestinian saying bluntly that he must address the question of the -- of what they call the massacre of Palestinians in that refugee camp.”
“And because the Palestinians are making such really very, very strong accusations of what went on in the refugee camp, Palestinian officials are saying it seems difficult how we can discuss a question of cease-fire while we don't address this question of what they call a massacre in the Jenin camp.”
“Mandela said the stepped-up actions were aimed at putting a stop to what he described as the massacre of farmers.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘massacre’.
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Headlines & Newsmakers
frugality, environment, extinction, bible, killer, jazz, cloning, dead, god, moon, global warming, bailout and 340 more...
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macabre
words associated with the macabre & horror.
( open list, randomness )
more:
http://www.wordnik.co...ghastly, grisly, culeus, silly, gruesome, horrid, morbid, angelic, shocking, hideous, ghoulish, frightful and 135 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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Situation Normal
inspired by Mistakes Were Made. Words for things going wrong in a manner particularly violent, stupid, soul-crushing, boggling, grandiose, or any combination of these qualities.
fuckup, snafu, fiasco, abortion, miscarriage, implosion, contretemps, imbroglio, brouhaha, melee, kerfuffle, mayhem and 156 more...
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Undo
A list of terms that denote separating one thing from another, or deconstructing a thing into its parts or to a former state. E.g., untie, divorce, unscramble.
untie, divorce, unscramble, disunite, disjoin, undo, separate, disassemble, uncouple, unhitch, disassociate, disaffiliate and 185 more...
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That Could Have Gone Better
dud, flop, fiasco, debacle, failure, learning experience, wash, doa, epic fail, bomb, crash and burn, bungle and 41 more...
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nytimes
rigor, endemic, nonchalance, aspire, illusion, doozie, Herculean, cacophony, rectify, chip in, proponent, vanguard and 16 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6689 more...
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kat's words
ecumenical, cacophony, clatter, marimba, bamboo, saffron, slice, mercurial, pomegranate, cranky, slipshod, scritch and 511 more...
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kingofbash's Words
bash, poleaxed, salacious, libertine, charlatan, aplomb, fortuitous, finagle, apoplectic, debutante, carte blanche, aardvark and 472 more...
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List of Heraldry Terms
Words and phrases used in blazoning heraldic devices, along with names and other terms associated with the art and science.
Other similar lists can be found on Wordnik, especially that...seiant, duciper, bourdon, pouch, scrip, staff, ananas, besant d'argent, roundle, roundel, argent, allocamelus and 743 more...
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JJMARLETTE's Words
phantasmagorical, antidisestablishm..., gargantuan, apocryphal, maim, disembowel, viscous, apothecary, seminal, exponential, googol, googolplex and 90 more...
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DreamieGrl's Words
integral, serendipidy, cordial, interesting, crucial, placate, superfluous, supercilious, scintillating, lush, tryst, mythical and 111 more...
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Whatever Works (2009)
Words from 2009 'Whatever Works' film.
fault, racket, unto, flaw, fallacious, notion, decent, embalm, filch, delusion, delusions of gran..., grandeur and 135 more...
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The "dark" things
grave, dead, death, die, died, dies, murder, murdered, murderer, murders, murdering, murderous and 115 more...
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the name of the rose
pleasing words I encounter whilst reading umberto eco's novel of the same name.
matins, lauds, prime, terce, sext, nones, vespers, compline, usurper, simoniac, heresiarch, malefactor and 230 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for massacre.
hernesheir In heraldry, a pair of antlers or attires attached to a piece of the skull, used as a bearing. -- Century Dictionary Oct 10, 2011
PossibleUnderscore I think my friend said, "I hear footsteps."
I wore my black and white dress to
The Birthday Massacre.
-Birthday Massacre. Jul 28, 2009
whichbe A whole bunch of land. Jan 5, 2009