slay

verb

ˈslā How to pronounce slay (audio)
Definition of slaynext
1
as in to kill
to deprive of life millions have been slain worldwide by this dreadful disease

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to assassinate
to put to death deliberately vowed to slay without mercy whoever was responsible for murdering his family

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word slay distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of slay are assassinate, dispatch, execute, kill, and murder. While all these words mean "to deprive of life," slay is a chiefly literary term implying deliberateness and violence but not necessarily motive.

slew thousands of the Philistines

Where would assassinate be a reasonable alternative to slay?

The words assassinate and slay can be used in similar contexts, but assassinate applies to deliberate killing openly or secretly often for political motives.

terrorists assassinated the Senator

In what contexts can dispatch take the place of slay?

Although the words dispatch and slay have much in common, dispatch stresses quickness and directness in putting to death.

dispatched the sentry with one bullet

When can execute be used instead of slay?

The words execute and slay are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, execute stresses putting to death as a legal penalty.

executed by lethal gas

When might kill be a better fit than slay?

The synonyms kill and slay are sometimes interchangeable, but kill merely states the fact of death caused by an agency in any manner.

killed in an accident
frost killed the plants

When is it sensible to use murder instead of slay?

While in some cases nearly identical to slay, murder specifically implies stealth and motive and premeditation and therefore full moral responsibility.

convicted of murdering a rival

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of slay And then, the hegemonic transatlantic alliance—the dragon that Russian strategists have been trying to slay since the late 1990s—would be no more. —Liana Fix, Foreign Affairs, 1 May 2025 Karen Carter, 65, was discovered slain in Dordogne, in southwestern France, on April 29, the BBC reported, citing the state prosecutor. —Samira Asma-Sadeque, People.com, 7 May 2025 The number of people slain so far in 2025: 116. Chicago homicides, by year Data for 2025 is updated through April 30, 2025. —Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 5 May 2025 Many, very many, fell down as men slain in battle, and continued for hours together in an apparently breathless and motionless state—sometimes for a few moments reviving, and exhibiting symptoms of life by a deep groan or piercing shriek, or by a prayer for mercy most fervently uttered. —Richard D. Mahoney, JSTOR Daily, 30 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for slay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slay
  1. kill
  2. assassinate
  3. destroy
  4. murder
  5. execute
Verb
  • The forecast comes after several devastating hurricanes battered the U.S. last year, including Helene, which killed 241 people across five states in September.
    — Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 25 May 2025
  • The week took a tragic turn Wednesday evening in Washington, D.C., when two Israeli Embassy employees were shot and killed near a Jewish museum.
    — Grace Miserocchi, Chicago Tribune, 24 May 2025
Definition of kill
Verb
  • Milk was assassinated in 1978 by a former colleague on the board.
    — Jonathan Horwitz, Oc Register, 23 May 2025
  • The day after John F. Kennedy was assassinated, a little over four years earlier in 1963, Hartford Public Schools held a half-day so students could grieve.
    — Staff report, Hartford Courant, 21 May 2025
Definition of assassinate
Verb
  • The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a plea from a group of Native American activists and supporters to block a copper mining company from destroying an Apache religious site.
    — Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 27 May 2025
  • During the week of my embed, the Russian military identified and destroyed a few of the Vampire pilots’ positions.
    — Nataliya Gumenyuk, The Atlantic, 27 May 2025
Definition of destroy
Verb
  • More people are murdered in South Africa annually, with its population of just over 60 million, than across the entire Western world, with its population of almost a billion people.
    — Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 26 May 2025
  • Officially, the Prime Video series (premiering May 29) is an adaptation of the 2019 novel by Alafair Burke, about a pair of estranged siblings, played by Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks, reuniting when one’s husband is murdered.
    — Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 26 May 2025
Definition of murder
Verb
  • The bride clarified that each idea only took about a minute to execute if not less time.
    — Zoey Lyttle, People.com, 27 May 2025
  • The Syrian government even returned the belongings of the Israeli spy Eli Cohen, who was executed in Damascus in 1965 after his espionage was discovered, in a goodwill gesture.
    — Natasha Hall, Foreign Affairs, 27 May 2025
Definition of execute

Browse Nearby Words

slavishness
slay
slayer
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Cite this Entry

“Slay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slay. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.

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