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murder Definition

mur·der (mʉr′dər)

noun

  1. the unlawful and malicious or premeditated killing of one human being by another; also, any killing done while committing some other felony, as rape or robbery
  2. ☆ Informal something very hard, unsafe, or disagreeable to do or deal with

Etymology: ME murthir, mordre < OE & OFr: OE morthor, akin to ON morth, Goth maurthr; OFr mordre < Frank *morthr: all ult. < IE *mṛtóm < base *mer- > mortal

transitive verb

  1. to kill (a person) unlawfully and with malice
  2. to kill inhumanly or barbarously, as in warfare
  3. to spoil, mar, etc., as in performance the song was murdered by the singer

intransitive verb

to commit murder

murder Idioms

get away with murder

☆

Slang to escape detection of or punishment for a blameworthy act

murder will out

  1. a murder or murderer will always be revealed
  2. any secret or wrongdoing will be revealed sooner or later

murder Synonyms

murder

n.

killing, homicide, unlawful homicide, death, destruction, annihilation, carnage, putting an end to, slaying, shooting, knifing, assassination, terrorism, dispatching, lynching, crime, felony, killing with malice aforethought, murder in the first degree, first degree murder, contract killing, murder in the second degree, murder in the third degree, manslaughter, massacre, genocide, butchery, mayhem, patricide, matricide, infanticide, fratricide, genocide, the Holocaust, suicide, foul play, ride*, dust-off*, bump-off*, the works*, the business*, one-way ticket*, dowser*; see also crime 2.

get away with murder*

escape punishment, take flight, avoid prosecution, avoid punishment; see evade 1.

murder Synonyms

murder

v.

  1. To kill unlawfully

    slay, assassinate, butcher; see kill 1.

  2. *To ruin, especially by incompetence

    spoil, mar, misuse; see botch, destroy 1, fail 1. See syn. study at kill.

murder Law Definition

n

The intentional and malicious killing of a human being.
first degree murder
Murder that is premeditated, or done during the commission of certain other felonies.
murder-suicide
Act of killing another followed by suicide, sometimes carried out in a pact, other times without the assent of the murdered person.
second degree murder
An unpremeditated murder not committed while carrying out another felony.

murder Usage Examples

Object

prostitute: The Ripper murdered five prostitutes within 10 weeks in the autumn of 1888.

Converse of object

  • commit: How unlikely is it the King's advocate should have malice against persons who commit murder, or should even know them at all.
  • scream: A few years back, Liars were screaming nonsensical murder and doing things with guitars that were illegal in 33 states.
  • investigate: Death's Shadow: Barnaby and Troy are called to investigate the murder of wealthy property developer.
  • condemn: Parnell publicly condemned the murders and rode out the storm of public indignation to push for a policy of Home Rule for Ireland.
  • solve: Chang " ) in order to solve a murder at an English estate.

Subject

IRA: John Baxter was an ex-cadet of the squadron who was murdered by the IRA.

Adjective modifier

  • attempted: On Friday a grand jury officially indicted Miller on two charges of attempted second degree murder relating to the 2001 incident.
  • brutal: We will get to the truth of the events that lead to the brutal murder of my brother on 2nd April.
  • unsolved: FAIR working in close co-operation with local police to look again at the hundreds of unsolved murders in South Armagh.
  • cold-blooded: They knew it was cold-blooded murder that they were doing at Muhammad's request.
  • wilful: The same evening I attended the inquest, and heard a verdict of " Wilful murder against some person or persons unknown " returned.
  • grisly: Soon afterward the girl is found murdered in the woods - the first in a series of grisly, gruesome murders.

Modifies a noun

  • mystery: Click here for the latest murder mystery breaks from Ramada Jarvis.
  • victim: Thereâs no kudos being named after a murder victim.
  • inquiry: David is advisor to DAC John Grieve on the McGowan murder inquiry in Telford.
  • investigation: The Stephen Lawrence murder investigation should formally have been a " B " category investigation.

Preposition: of

policeman: For example three were charged with the armed robbery of a jeweler, four with the murder of two policemen.

Preposition: with

impunity: The ' Legitimate Defense of Honor ' , or murder with impunity?

Preposition: by

IRA: John Baxter was an ex-cadet of the squadron who was murdered by the IRA.

Browse dictionary entries near murder

  1. ‹ Murcott
  2. ‹ Murcia
  3. ‹ Murat
  4. ‹ Murasaki Shikibu
  5. ‹ muralist
  6. ‹ mural
  7. ‹ murabaha
  8. ‹ muon
  9. ‹ muntjac
  10. ‹ muntin
  1. murdered ›
  2. murderer ›
  3. murderess ›
  4. murderous ›
  5. murderously ›
  6. Murdoch ›
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  8. Mureş ›
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  10. Murfreesboro ›