mercy killings

noun

plural of mercy killing
as in murders
the act of ending the life of someone who is very sick or injured in order to prevent any further suffering Some called her death a mercy killing.

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mercy killings
  1. murders
  2. homicides
  3. massacres
Noun
  • Citywide, shootings and murders have reached historic lows this year including in July a record 29-day streak in Brooklyn without a single homicide.
    — Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Lindsay was paralyzed after the violent incident and was arrested and charged with the murders shortly afterward.
    — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of murders
Noun
  • The new minimum applies to more than 50 unsolved homicides and missing-person cases in tribal communities.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Officials credited the effort with a nearly 40% reduction in homicides in Duval County in its first four years.
    — Yona Gavino, Miami Herald, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of homicides
Noun
  • King managed to take the suffocating history of the Indian — the treaties, the massacres, the Hollywood caricatures — and turn it into something conversational, even funny.
    — Tommy Orange, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Several massacres occurred in surrounding villages during that period.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of massacres
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.

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mercy killing
mercy killings
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Cite this Entry

“Mercy killings.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mercy%20killings. Accessed 30 Aug. 2026.

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