massacre
/'mæsəkə/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- The savage and excessive killing of many people: An act of mass killing, typically of a large number of defenseless or unresisting people, often in a brutal or indiscriminate manner.
Verb:
- To kill a large number of people indiscriminately: To slaughter a multitude of people, often in a cruel and unrestrained way.
Usage Examples
Noun:
- The history books describe the event as a brutal massacre.
- Survivors of the massacre were deeply traumatized.
Verb:
- The invading army was accused of massacring the civilian population.
- Entire villages were massacred during the conflict.
Advanced Usage
"to be a massacre": to be a situation involving a severe defeat or a large number of casualties, often used metaphorically in sports or competitions.
- The final score was 10-0; it was a complete massacre on the soccer field.
"to massacre a language/song": (informal, figurative) to perform or speak something very poorly.
- He completely massacred the pronunciation of her name.
Variants and Related Words
- Massacrer (noun): One who commits a massacre.
- The trial sought to bring the massacrers to justice.
Synonyms
- Slaughter (noun/verb): To kill (people or animals) in a violent or cruel way.
- Pogrom (noun): An organized massacre, especially of a particular ethnic group.
- Carnage (noun): The killing of a large number of people.
Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions
(Note: "Massacre" does not commonly form standard phrasal verbs. Its usage is typically direct.)
Related Idioms
- "A massacre of the innocents": A phrase often used to describe the killing of children or harmless people, sometimes referencing specific historical or biblical events.
- The painting depicted the massacre of the innocents.
Noun
- the savage and excessive killing of many people
Verb
- kill a large number of people indiscriminately
- The Hutus massacred the Tutsis in Rwanda