MURDERS Synonyms: 166 Similar and Opposite Words

murders 1 of 2

noun

plural of murder

as in nightmares

a situation or state that causes great suffering and unhappiness this weather is murder on my sinuses

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as in homicides

the intentional and unlawful taking of another person's life arrested for attempting to commit murder

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murders

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of murder

as in assassinates

to put to death deliberately those people made me so mad I felt like I wanted to murder them

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in fumbles

to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way we listened in horror as she murdered our favorite song on stage

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of murders

Noun

The movement thereafter played a prominent role in protests across the United States and in other countries, particularly in the wake of the murders of Eric Garner in 2014 and George Floyd in 2020. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026 But when similar slayings begin to occur years later, Pete and his ambitious young colleague, Detective Amanda Beck, must figure out whether Carter had an accomplice that got away, or if the murders are merely the work of a copycat. — Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026 But the murders have taken place in different boroughs, and breakdowns in interdepartmental communications have kept any from seeing obvious connections. — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 28 Aug. 2026 Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen, the surviving roommates of the four slain victims, faced severe online harassment and death threats from trolls following the murders. — Addie Morfoot, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026 Reddington is playing at the jury's heartstrings by emphasizing Clancy's life before the murders of her children. — Sumiko Corley, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2026 The two suspects were reportedly hoping to be given entry into the notorious Aryan Brotherhood prison gang by carrying out the murders. — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 27 Aug. 2026 Lane was granted immunity from prosecution for his testimony against Adams, though Wright Stevens grappled with growing evidence that suggested Lane had prior run-ins with the Ipalook sisters and was at their home the night of the murders. — Mackenzie Farkus, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Aug. 2026 Citywide, shootings and murders have reached historic lows this year including in July a record 29-day streak in Brooklyn without a single homicide. — Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 23 Aug. 2026

Verb

To get even with Kanan, Juke murders Raq, her surrogate mother. — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2026 Moriarty has reported on the yogurt shop murders for over 30 years. — Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 26 June 2026 Not the family stuff, like Natalie’s spontaneous nipple piercing after making out with Cady’s maybe-daughter, Nevaeh (Malia Pyles), who later murders her own mother after kissing her, for way too long, on the mouth. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 26 June 2026 Red is immediately abducted, cut open in an ambulance, and injected with pain-magnifying drugs by his torturers, while Liz accidentally murders the mysterious man surveilling her next door. — Ew Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 25 June 2026 During that summer — against the backdrop of Apollo 11, Woodstock, and more eerily, the Manson murders — Tatiana had gone to Brazil for vacation. — M. Sara Rosenthal, STAT, 25 June 2026 Kingpin’s enforcer Buck Cashman (Arty Froushan) shockingly murders Deputy Mayor Daniel Blake (Michael Gandolfini) in a showdown of Fisk’s two right-hand men. — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 29 Apr. 2026 In 1971, a jury in Los Angeles recommended the death penalty for Charles Manson and three female followers for the 1969 Tate-La Bianca murders. — ABC News, 9 Mar. 2026 Her unscrupulous, power-hungry uncle Claudius (Kôji Yakusho) murders his own brother to become king. — Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for murders

Noun

An episode of septicemia, with its hells and paradises, its nightmares and hallucinations, transforms Borges into a story writer.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026
Curry, who died Tuesday at 80, made a gleefully evil turn as a clown that sparked nightmares for legions of Gen X and millennial viewers that continue to haunt to this day.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of nightmares

Verb

That assassinates Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sparking retaliatory attacks by Iran across the Middle East.

— Jill Lawrence, Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2026
Soleimani assassination | Trump orders a drone strike in Iraq that assassinates Qasem Soleimani, an influential Iranian military commander.

— Erin Mansfield, USA Today, 1 Mar. 2026

Definition of assassinates

Noun

Arthur Miller’s enduring impact rivals Shakespeare’s, with a consistently socially conscious body of work that challenged power structures and society’s complicity during his time and still reaches modern audiences with the horrors of today.

— Greg Evans, Deadline, 29 Aug. 2026
But in between the jump scares and supernatural horrors is a story of motherhood and confronting the past.

— Tanya Fedak, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of horrors

Noun

The Johnson County District Court sentenced Robinson to death for the killings of two women and to life in prison in Kansas for the killing of a third.

— Alexa Newsom, Kansas City Star, 18 June 2026
Myung Jin Kim, 31, was wanted in connection with two killings, including a botched murder-for-hire plot in San Jose in 2016 and the killing of Kim’s friend in the parking lot of a CVS in Westminster two years later.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2026

Definition of killings

Verb

In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Beyoncé slays in all-white at the World Cup final between Argentina and Spain, while Justin and Hailey Bieber show off their streetwear style in New York City.

— Brendan Le, PEOPLE, 20 July 2026
Kerry Washington completely dismissing Seth Meyers’s home life absolutely slays.

— Bethy Squires, Vulture, 19 June 2026

Definition of slays

Verb

The Las Vegas spectacle, which opened to the public in August 2025, already blows audiences around with tornado-force wind, shakes them with haptic seats, sends giant winged monkeys flying overhead and drops hundreds of foam apples from the ceiling.

— Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026
By the time Frey and Felder nearly came to blows backstage in the summer of 1980, however, those threads were too frayed to hold.

— Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of blows

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murderousness

murders

murk

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“Murders.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/murders. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of murders

noun

verb

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