tru di
Definition
- Verb:
- To exterminate; to execute along with one's family line: A historical punitive action, typically ordered by a ruler, involving the execution of a convicted person and their extended family or clan. It signifies complete eradication.
- To wipe out; to annihilate: In a broader, more figurative sense, it can mean to utterly destroy or eliminate a group.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Tội phản nghịch thời xưa thường bị xử tru di. (The crime of treason in ancient times was often punished by extermination of the family.)
- Vị tướng bất trung và toàn bộ gia tộc của ông ta đã bị tru di. (The disloyal general and his entire clan were exterminated.)
- Kế hoạch của họ là tru di toàn bộ quân địch. (Their plan was to annihilate the entire enemy force.)
Advanced Usage
- "tru di tam tộc": (idiomatic historical phrase) To exterminate three clans (the clans of the convict's father, mother, and wife). This was a specific, severe form of the punishment.
- Án tru di tam tộc là hình phạt tàn khốc nhất. (The punishment of exterminating three clans was the most brutal.)
Variants and Related Words
- Tru sát (v): to massacre, to slaughter. This word focuses more on the mass killing aspect rather than the specific familial extermination implied by "tru di."
- Hình phạt tru di (n): the punishment of familial extermination.
Synonyms
- Exterminate: To destroy completely.
- Annihilate: To reduce to nothing.
- Wipe out: To eliminate entirely.
- Execute en masse: To put a large group to death.
Related Idioms
- Tru di cửu tộc: (historical) To exterminate nine clans (an even more extensive form of familial punishment, though often used hyperbolically).
- Lời đe dọa tru di cửu tộc khiến mọi người khiếp sợ. (The threat of exterminating nine clans terrified everyone.)