Definition

1. 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.)