1
as in oppressive
difficult to endure
the murderous heat of the desert
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in difficult
requiring considerable physical or mental effort
those exams were murderous
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in lethal
likely to cause or capable of causing death
braved murderous machine-gun fire to capture the hill from the enemy
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4
as in murdering
eager for or marked by the shedding of blood, extreme violence, or killing
Viking warriors became legendary for the murderous fury they displayed in battle
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of murderous
Further, human members of those communities often are hostile towards outsiders and become violent, even murderous, when newcomers arrive.
—
Grrlscientist, Forbes.com, 11 May 2025
Just north of Magic Mountain’s roller coasters, hidden within the vast, anonymous industrial parks of Valencia, lies the secret lab where the murderous doll M3GAN was born.
—Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2025
Newcastle United’s Italian midfielder is scorching forward at a murderous pace, his intent so malicious that Lavia hesitates — and that hesitation is enough.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 12 May 2025
In the first film in the Firefly trilogy, 2003’s House of 1000 Corpses, the depths of Spaulding’s depravity and his connection to the murderous Firefly clan aren’t fully clear.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for murderous
Grrlscientist, Forbes.com, 11 May 2025
Just north of Magic Mountain’s roller coasters, hidden within the vast, anonymous industrial parks of Valencia, lies the secret lab where the murderous doll M3GAN was born.
—Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2025
Newcastle United’s Italian midfielder is scorching forward at a murderous pace, his intent so malicious that Lavia hesitates — and that hesitation is enough.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 12 May 2025
In the first film in the Firefly trilogy, 2003’s House of 1000 Corpses, the depths of Spaulding’s depravity and his connection to the murderous Firefly clan aren’t fully clear.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for murderous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for murderous
Adjective
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The United States held Qaddafi’s Libya up as a success story in the global war on terror, a former rogue state that had made amends for its murderous past, relinquished its nuclear-weapons program and reoriented its oppressive state apparatus around American foreign-policy priorities.—
Henry Leutwyler Robert Petkoff Emma Kehlbeck Quinton Kamara,
New York Times,
20 May 2025
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Contracts of adhesion are sometimes seen as oppressive, especially in the consumer context, but courts often regard them as enforceable.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
20 May 2025
Adjective
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But the fact that Schwartzman, in his first film, was given the difficult task of stealing laughs away from a comedy legend, and so often succeeds in doing so, gives him the slight edge.—
Shannon Carlin,
Time,
30 May 2025
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Yuri is at once more straightforward and more difficult to talk about as an umbrella term.—
Vrai Kaiser,
Them.,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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Oscar Franklin Smith is set to be executed by lethal injection for the 1989 murder of his estranged wife, 35-year-old Judith Robirds Smith, and her sons.—
Fernando Cervantes Jr,
USA Today,
22 May 2025
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The last electrocution was in 1990, the method has been lethal injection since that time.—
Ray Hanley,
Arkansas Online,
21 May 2025
Adjective
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In fact, all forms of Persian rap — from street rap and gangsta to philosophical and social hip-hop — were used in the service of protest, with many works accompanied by heavy beats, dark atmospheres, and harsh narrative styles.—
Ali Farahmand,
IndieWire,
23 May 2025
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Though Nicole reserves her harshest jabs for Jorgeous, the real heat is between Tina and Mistress.—
Chris Feil,
Vulture,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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However, this challenging situation also presents an opportunity for businesses.—
Kendra Davenport,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2025
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The new bill, advocates said, is also expected to be particularly challenging for Native Americans who rely on tribal cards for identification ‒ which typically don't include place of birth, as the new law requires.—
Deborah Barfield Berry,
USA Today,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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The only new name in 2025 is Dexter, which replaced Dorian, a deadly and destructive Category 5 hurricane that wreaked havoc in the Bahamas in 2019.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
31 May 2025
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Rock jetties can be deadly in such conditions, stay off the rocks.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
31 May 2025
Adjective
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After watching in terror as a man violently attacked a police officer in an El Cajon fast-food restaurant, Iesha Booker checked for a pulse on the bloody, unconscious officer and yelled into the radio on his belt.—
Karen Kucher,
sandiegouniontribune.com,
19 July 2017
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Photos of the man in a hospital bed with a bloody mouth were also posted.—
Jonece Starr Dunigan,
AL.com,
14 July 2017
Adjective
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Peña said that because the physical changes to the third floor will be minimal, the new flea market should be open in the next couple of weeks — just in time to avoid Miami’s searing summer heat and sudden thunderstorms.—
Connie Ogle,
Miami Herald,
21 May 2025
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Pyroclastic clouds, or a dense mixture of ash, gas and rock dispersed during a volcanic eruption, caused a searing, rapid avalanche of debris to fill the home, Zuchtriegel said.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
17 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Murderous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/murderous. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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