Phrase guide

human sacrifice

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The killing of one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A human being killed in this way.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From human + sacrifice.

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: човешко жертвоприношение (čoveško žertvoprinošenie) — the ritual killing of a person
  • Chinese Cantonese: 人祭 (jan4 zai3) — the ritual killing of a person
  • Chinese Mandarin: 人祭 (rénjì) — the ritual killing of a person
  • German: Menschenopfer — the ritual killing of a person
  • Greek: ανθρωποθυσία (anthropothysía) — the ritual killing of a person
  • Ancient Greek: ἀνθρωποθυσία (anthrōpothusía) — the ritual killing of a person
  • Japanese: 人身御供 (hitomi gokū) — the ritual killing of a person
  • Māori: raukakai — the ritual killing of a person
  • Norwegian Bokmål: menneskeofring — the ritual killing of a person
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: menneskeofring — the ritual killing of a person
  • Portuguese: sacrifício humano — the ritual killing of a person
  • Swedish: människooffer — the ritual killing of a person
  • Telugu: నరబలి (narabali) — the ritual killing of a person