mas·sa·cre
ˈma-si-kər 
1
: the act or an instance of killing a number of usually helpless or unresisting human beings under circumstances of atrocity or cruelty
witnessed the massacre of a boatload of refugees
2
: a cruel or wanton (see wanton entry 1 sense 1a) murder
3
: a wholesale slaughter of animals
Residents engaged in a citywide cat massacre.
4
: an act of complete destruction
the author's massacre of traditional federalist presuppositions—
R. G. McCloskey
R. G. McCloskeythe Puritan massacre of statues and pictures—Robert Hughes
Robert Hughes
massacred; massacring
ˈma-si-k(ə-)riŋ
1
: to kill by massacre
2
: mangle sense 2
words were misspelled and syntax massacred—Bice Clemow
Bice ClemowSynonyms
Examples of massacre in a Sentence
Noun
The game turned out to be a complete massacre.
the infamous massacre of more than 200 Sioux at Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Verb
Hundreds have been massacred in the uprising.
The other team really massacred us on Saturday.
He really massacred that song.
Recent Examples on the WebAshoka Mody, The Atlantic, 26 Apr. 2024
Since the 10/7 massacre, Columbia’s Jewish students have been forced to endure routine calls for their execution.
—The Editors, National Review, 22 Apr. 2024
The teen perpetrators of the 1999 Columbine massacre obtained their guns from a friend who had purchased them, without a background check, at a gun show.
—Francis Wilkinson, The Mercury News, 18 Apr. 2024
Especially after the October 7 Hamas massacres, Iran’s unprecedented strike on Israeli territory has transformed the confrontation from one taking place mainly in the shadows to an imminent existential peril.
—Suzanne Maloney, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
There were big protests, but Australia has continued to modify those laws over the years, with the end result being that in the almost exactly 28 years since the Port Arthur massacre there has been just one incident in which a shooter killed more than four strangers in Australia.
—Belinda Luscombe, TIME, 16 Apr. 2024
The road to the massacre began on Black Friday, when the Crumbleys bought their 15-year-old son, Ethan, a 9mm handgun as an early Christmas present.
—Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
Madonna remembered the victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting Tuesday at the singer’s concert in Miami, a gig attended by many survivors of the deadly massacre at the Orlando LGBTQ+ nightclub.
—Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2024
Such a plan must ensure a Palestinian state isn’t perceived as the direct reward for the October 7th massacre and the Iranian attack on Israel.
—Gadi Ezra, TIME, 15 Apr. 2024
Emily Alvarenga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2024
Then came the Hamas attack on October 7, in which at least 1,145 Israelis were massacred and 253 kidnapped and taken to Gaza.
—Anshel Pfeffer, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2024
Across its border sat an army of tens of thousands of men intent on massacring civilians.
—Phil Klay, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2024
Colonizing, stripping the land of its assets, terrorizing and massacring the population.
—Tony Rehagen, Washington Post, 25 Jan. 2024
The message, which some are interpreting as indicating support for Hamas, the terrorist group that massacred civilians in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, is being taken that way by some of Jewish faith in the San Diego community.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Dec. 2023
Still, the world has seen an explosion of antisemitism since October 7, when Hamas massacred 1,200 Israelis, launching the latest Gaza war.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 26 Feb. 2024
In response, angry residents launched a sit-in at a clock tower; regime soldiers massacred them, leaving the asphalt streaked with blood.
—Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
At the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, where 11 people were massacred a year ago in a shooting rampage.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 2 Feb. 2024
Noun
Worse, as chief minister of Gujarat in 2002, Modi had failed to stop a bloody massacre of Muslims, thereby establishing himself as an avatar of Hindu-nationalist extremism.
—Ashoka Mody, The Atlantic, 26 Apr. 2024
Since the 10/7 massacre, Columbia’s Jewish students have been forced to endure routine calls for their execution.
—The Editors, National Review, 22 Apr. 2024
The teen perpetrators of the 1999 Columbine massacre obtained their guns from a friend who had purchased them, without a background check, at a gun show.
—Francis Wilkinson, The Mercury News, 18 Apr. 2024
Especially after the October 7 Hamas massacres, Iran’s unprecedented strike on Israeli territory has transformed the confrontation from one taking place mainly in the shadows to an imminent existential peril.
—Suzanne Maloney, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
There were big protests, but Australia has continued to modify those laws over the years, with the end result being that in the almost exactly 28 years since the Port Arthur massacre there has been just one incident in which a shooter killed more than four strangers in Australia.
—Belinda Luscombe, TIME, 16 Apr. 2024
The road to the massacre began on Black Friday, when the Crumbleys bought their 15-year-old son, Ethan, a 9mm handgun as an early Christmas present.
—Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
Madonna remembered the victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting Tuesday at the singer’s concert in Miami, a gig attended by many survivors of the deadly massacre at the Orlando LGBTQ+ nightclub.
—Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2024
Such a plan must ensure a Palestinian state isn’t perceived as the direct reward for the October 7th massacre and the Iranian attack on Israel.
—Gadi Ezra, TIME, 15 Apr. 2024
Verb
Empty cans of the Zyklon B poison gas used to massacre Jewish people during World War II.
—Emily Alvarenga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2024
Then came the Hamas attack on October 7, in which at least 1,145 Israelis were massacred and 253 kidnapped and taken to Gaza.
—Anshel Pfeffer, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2024
Across its border sat an army of tens of thousands of men intent on massacring civilians.
—Phil Klay, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2024
Colonizing, stripping the land of its assets, terrorizing and massacring the population.
—Tony Rehagen, Washington Post, 25 Jan. 2024
The message, which some are interpreting as indicating support for Hamas, the terrorist group that massacred civilians in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, is being taken that way by some of Jewish faith in the San Diego community.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Dec. 2023
Still, the world has seen an explosion of antisemitism since October 7, when Hamas massacred 1,200 Israelis, launching the latest Gaza war.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 26 Feb. 2024
In response, angry residents launched a sit-in at a clock tower; regime soldiers massacred them, leaving the asphalt streaked with blood.
—Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
At the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, where 11 people were massacred a year ago in a shooting rampage.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 2 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'massacre.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Massacre.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/massacre. Accessed 1 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
massacre
1 of 2 verb
mas·sa·cre
ˈmas-i-kər
massacred; massacring
-k(ə-)riŋ
: to kill in a massacre : slaughter
massacrer
noun
-i-kər-ər
-i-krər
massacre
2 of 2 noun
: the violent and cruel killing of a number of persons
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