Phrase guide

put someone out of their misery

verb · 3 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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1

verb

Meaning 1

To submit a suffering person or an animal to euthanasia.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, informal, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To end or destroy something for the good of the individuals involved in it.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, idiomatic, informal, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To relieve somebody's anxiety by supplying information that they wanted to know.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, informal, transitive

Examples

  • Well, I'll put you out of your misery: the amount we won on the lottery was only ten dollars.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

16 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 安樂死 /安乐死 (ānlèsǐ) — informal: to euthanize
  • Finnish: päästää kärsimyksistä — informal: to euthanize
  • French: mettre fin aux souffrances de — informal: to euthanize
  • French: abréger les souffrances de — informal: to euthanize
  • German: einschläfern — informal: to euthanize
  • German: den Gnadenschuss geben — informal: to euthanize
  • Polish: skrócić męki — informal: to euthanize
  • Portuguese: acabar com o sofrimento de — informal: to euthanize
  • Romanian: curma suferința — informal: to euthanize
  • Russian: изба́вить от страда́ний (izbávitʹ ot stradánij) — informal: to euthanize
  • Russian: изба́вить от муче́ний (izbávitʹ ot mučénij) — informal: to euthanize
  • Russian: изба́вить от мук (izbávitʹ ot muk) — informal: to euthanize
  • Spanish: eutanizar — informal: to euthanize
  • Spanish: acabar con el sufrimiento de — informal: to euthanize
  • Swedish: avsluta någons lidande — informal: to euthanize
  • German: nicht länger auf die Folter spannen — figurative: to relieve by supplying information