slain

verb

Definition of slainnext
past participle of slay
1
as in killed
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 murdered
to put to death deliberately vowed to slay without mercy whoever was responsible for murdering his family

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 slain For the same price, fans can purchase a Sean Taylor T-Shirt with the likeness of the former safety in his Redskins uniform before he was tragically slain in 2007. — Armando Salguero Outkick, FOXNews.com, 26 Aug. 2026 Amber Gates, the mother of slain inmate Charles Gates, 27, alleges CoreCivic employees failed in their duty to keep prisoners safe. — Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 26 Aug. 2026 Additionally, interviews and encounters with the slain officers’ family members also illustrate the cost and harm of a job that was formed in the early 19th century and remains antiquated and unchanged in our 21st-century world. — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 20 Aug. 2026 Banks’ attorneys argued the song is about Banks’ slain older brother, who is named in the lyrics. — Conor Murray, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for slain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slain
  1. killed
  2. murdered
  3. destroyed
  4. assassinated
  5. executed
Verb
  • At the conference on Thursday, police did not name the victims, the shooter, or the bystander who killed him.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The subsequent airstrike killed him and, according to independent estimates, at least 125 other people.
    — Halla Tómasdóttir, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of killed
Verb
  • The flow of money from Qatar into Gaza has taken on new significance since October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists stormed southern Israel, murdered some 1,200 people, and took 251 more hostage.
    — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The child was Leslie Ann Downey, one of five victims murdered by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between 1963 and 1965.
    — Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of murdered
Verb
  • Firefighters battling a blaze that destroyed six homes in south Orange County can expect a bit of reprieve Saturday afternoon as Santa Ana winds begin to die down.
    — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Its owners, a family of three, left for a cruise before the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel destroyed their property.
    — Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC news, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of destroyed
Verb
  • This is where Catto was assassinated 155 years ago during a tumultuous Election Day in 1871.
    — Timothy Welbeck, The Conversation, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Yeah, people just want to see if I really did get assassinated by Madonna’s Cartel.
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of assassinated
Verb
  • Instead of flying the drone remotely with individual controls, the F-22 pilot sent high-level tactical instructions that the drone’s onboard autonomy software interpreted and executed.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
  • There's no one character who came up with the idea and executed it … the existence of AI today comes down to many papers, many individual discoveries, and a whole lot of obsession.
    — Cooper Katz McKim, NPR, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of executed

Browse Nearby Words

slags
slain
slake
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Cite this Entry

“Slain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slain. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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