Synonyms and antonyms of To kill a person or animal in British Thesaurus

kill (verb)

to make a person or other living thing die

murder (verb)

to commit the crime of killing someone deliberately

strangle (verb)

to kill a person or an animal by squeezing their throat so that they cannot breathe

assassinate (verb)

to kill a famous or important person, especially for political reasons or for payment

slaughter (verb)

to kill a lot of people in a violent way

massacre (verb)

to kill a lot of people

exterminate (verb)

to kill a person or a group of people

bump off ()

to murder someone

dispatch (verb)

formal to kill a person or animal

take someone’s life ()

to kill someone

asphyxiate (verb)

to kill someone by preventing them from breathing, or to die when someone prevents you from breathing

beat/bash someone’s brains out ()

to kill or badly injure someone by hitting their head very hard

blow away (informal)

informal to kill someone by shooting them

blow someone’s brains out ()

to kill someone by shooting them in the head from very close to them

blow someone’s head off ()

to kill someone by shooting them in the head

burn (verb)

to injure or kill someone by setting fire to them

butcher (verb)

to kill someone, often a lot of people, in a cruel and violent way

claim (verb)

mainly journalism if war, disease, or an accident claims someone’s life, they die as a result of it

crucify (verb)

to kill someone by fastening them to a cross with nails or rope

crush (verb)

to injure or kill someone by crushing them

cut down (literary)

literary if a weapon, bullet, or illness cuts someone down, it kills or injures them

decapitate (verb)

formal to cut off someone’s head

despatch ()

another spelling of dispatch

disembowel (verb)

to kill someone by cutting open their stomach and removing their intestines

dismember (verb)

to cut or pull someone’s body into pieces

dispose of ()

to kill someone

do away with (informal)

informal to murder someone

do for (British)

Britishinformal to make it impossible for someone to succeed or to continue living

do in (informal)

informal to murder someone

drown (verb)

to kill someone by pushing them under water

electrocute (verb)

to kill or injure someone with electricity

eliminate (verb)

to murder someone who is considered to be a problem

execute (verb)

to kill someone as a punishment for a crime

finish off (informal)

informal to kill someone

garrotte (verb)

to kill someone by pulling something very tight round their neck, especially a wire

gas (verb)

to attack or kill someone by making them breathe a poisonous gas

get (verb)

informal to kill someone

guillotine (verb)

to kill someone using a guillotine

gun down ()

to shoot someone and kill them or injure them badly, especially someone who is not guilty of anything, or who is not carrying a gun

hang (verb)

to kill someone by putting a rope around their neck and making them fall

immolate (verb)

very formal to kill someone by burning them

kill off ()

to destroy living things so that most or all of them are dead

knife (verb)

to injure or kill someone with a knife

knock off ()

to murder someone

liquidate (verb)

informal to kill someone

lynch (verb)

to kill someone by hanging them by the neck, even though they have not been proved guilty of any crime

martyr (verb)

to kill someone or make them suffer because of their religious or political beliefs

mow down ()

to kill a lot of people quickly and violently, especially by shooting them

off (verb)

mainly Americanvery informal to kill someone

orphan (verb)

to make a child an orphan

poison (verb)

to kill someone or make them very ill by giving them poison

polish off (mainly American)

mainly American to defeat or kill someone

put away (American)

Americanvery informal to kill someone

put someone to the sword ()

to kill someone with a sword

rub out (American)

Americaninformal to kill someone

run down ()

to hit someone with your car and injure or kill them

sacrifice (verb)

to kill a person or animal as part of a ceremony to honour a god or spirit

savage (verb)

if an animal savages someone, it attacks them and injures or kills them

shed blood ()

to cause death or injury

shoot down ()

to kill someone with a gun

silence (verb)

very informal to kill someone so that they cannot give information to an enemy or someone in authority

slay (verb)

literary to kill someone in a violent way

smother (verb)

to kill someone by covering their face until they stop breathing

spear (verb)

to hit or kill a person or animal with a sharp pointed weapon such as a spear

spill blood ()

to hurt or kill someone in a fight

stab (verb)

to kill or hurt someone by pushing a knife or other sharp object into their body

starve (verb)

to make someone suffer or die by preventing them from having enough food

strike down ()

to make someone die or become so ill that they can no longer live a normal life

string up ()

to kill someone by hanging them

suffocate (verb)

to die because you cannot breathe, or to kill someone in this way

take out (informal)

informal to kill someone

tear/rip someone limb from limb ()

to violently attack or kill someone

throttle (verb)

to hurt or to kill someone by squeezing their throat so that they cannot breathe

waste (verb)

mainly Americanvery informal to kill someone

wipe out (very informal)

very informal to kill someone