Standard Lemma guide
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.
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noun
The killing of a considerable number (usually limited to people) where little or no resistance can be made, with indiscriminate violence, without necessity, and/or contrary to civilized norms.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Murder.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, obsolete, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Any overwhelming defeat, as in a game or sport.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, figuratively, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
To kill in considerable numbers where little or no resistance can be made, with indiscriminate violence, without necessity, and contrary to civilized norms. (Often limited to the killing of human beings.)
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
To win against (an opponent) very decisively.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
To perform (a work, such as a musical piece or a play) very poorly.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
To kill with great force or brutality.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: proscribed, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
the savage and excessive killing of many people
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: slaughter, mass murder, carnage, butchery
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: murder, slaying, execution
Narrower terms: bloodbath, bloodletting, bloodshed, battue, Alamo, Little Bighorn, Battle of Little Bighorn, Battle of the Little Bighorn, Custer's Last Stand
verb
kill a large number of people indiscriminately
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Synonyms: slaughter, mow down
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: kill
History
1580, from Middle French massacre, from Old French macacre, marcacre, macecre, macecle (“slaughterhouse, butchery”), usually thought to be deverbal from Old French macecrer, macecler (“to slaughter”), though the noun seems to be attested somewhat earlier. It is also found in Medieval Latin mazacrium (“massacre, slaughter, killing”, also “the head of a newly killed stag”). Further origin disputed: * From Latin macellum (“butcher shop”). * From Vulgar Latin *matteuculāre, from *matteuca (cf. massue), from Late Latin mattea, mattia, from Latin mateola. * From Middle Low German *matskelen (“to massacre”) (compare German metzeln (“massacre”)), frequentative of matsken, matzgen (“to cut, hew”), from Proto-West Germanic *maitan, from Proto-Germanic *maitaną (“to cut”), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“small”). Akin to Old High German meizan (“to cut”) among others. * Note also Arabic مَجْزَرَة (majzara), originally “spot where animals are slaughtered”, now also “massacre”, and in Maghrebi Arabic “slaughterhouse”. Derived from جَزَرَ (jazara, “to cut, slaughter”).
Across languages
168 source translations are retained for this English entry.
