1
as in inferno
a destructive burning
the holocaust caused by the ignited chemicals completely destroyed the factory and several surrounding homes
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in massacre
the killing of a large number of people
as many as 2,000,000 people may have perished in the holocaust perpetrated by Cambodia's Khmer Rouge
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of holocaust
More exotic theories include that the CIA concealed evidence of Soviet complicity in the assassination in the belief that exposure of this would inexorably lead to a nuclear holocaust.
—
Makena Kelly, WIRED, 10 Oct. 2024
Five arrives last, on November 25, 1963, right in the middle of a nuclear holocaust.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2024
In the 1950s, the success of the Manhattan Project, combined with the emerging U.S.-Soviet rivalry, created the novel threat of a worldwide nuclear holocaust.
—Daniel Deudney, Foreign Affairs, 14 June 2018
Soon after, the same broadcaster commissioned a holocaust series featuring a majority white cast.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for holocaust
Makena Kelly, WIRED, 10 Oct. 2024
Five arrives last, on November 25, 1963, right in the middle of a nuclear holocaust.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2024
In the 1950s, the success of the Manhattan Project, combined with the emerging U.S.-Soviet rivalry, created the novel threat of a worldwide nuclear holocaust.
—Daniel Deudney, Foreign Affairs, 14 June 2018
Soon after, the same broadcaster commissioned a holocaust series featuring a majority white cast.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for holocaust
Recent Examples of Synonyms for holocaust
Noun
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With his wife trapped in the inferno, the protagonist must navigate competing priorities between saving lives and preventing a terrorist attack.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
18 Mar. 2025
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An advancing inferno may call for hasty felling of trees to create firebreaks.—
Albert C. Lin,
The Conversation,
13 Mar. 2025
Noun
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In 2007, the British journalist David Litchfield wrote in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that guests at a ball at Schloss Rechnitz were invited to shoot Jews for sport—a claim disputed by historians, who do not dispute that the massacre took place.—
James Wood,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2025
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Trump got a temporary reprieve when the markets closed Friday at 4 p.m., but expect the massacre to resume this morning at 9:30 when the opening bell rings at the New York Stock Exchange.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The fires were personal for Scott — his fiancée Zooey Deschanel’s childhood home in the Palisades burned.—
Dakota Smith,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Mar. 2025
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The fire is just north of Lake Adger, also southeast of Asheville.—
Kinsey Crowley,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Namely: Who bears responsibility for the slaughter of the season?—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
7 Apr. 2025
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That concept of freedom might be better exemplified by Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge, another Third World death cult that promised liberation and promoted slaughter — and that came with its own prominent apologists on American college campuses.—
Bret Stephens,
Mercury News,
4 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Holocaust.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/holocaust. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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