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# massacre

noun (a massacre, massacres); verb (massacre, massacres, massacred, massacring)

«massacre» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A massacre is the cruel killing of many people who cannot defend themselves. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/massacre/#m1)
2. To massacre people is to kill many of them in this way. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/massacre/#m2)
3. (informal) In sport and games a massacre is a very heavy defeat: «It was a massacre: ten–nil!» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/massacre/#m3)
4. (informal) To massacre a song or a language means to perform it very badly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/massacre/#m4)

### In the lessons

In history lessons and news it is a very serious word for terrible events that people remember and mourn. In everyday sport talk it is an exaggeration. Phrases: «a terrible massacre», «remember the massacre», «it was a massacre».

### Examples

- The massacre is remembered every year with a minute of silence. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/massacre/#x1)
- History books tell of massacres in many wars. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/massacre/#x2)
- Soldiers massacred the people of the village. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/massacre/#x3)
- Our team lost twelve–nil; it was a massacre. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/massacre/#x4)
- (informal) Dad massacred that song at karaoke. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/massacre/#x5)
- We learned how survivors told the story of the massacre. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/massacre/#x6)
- Memorials help people remember victims of massacres. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/massacre/#x7)
- (informal) Sorry, I massacred the French pronunciation. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/massacre/#x8)
- It is no part of ours to describe what was a massacre rather than a fight. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/massacre/#x9)

### Note

Say «MASS-uh-ker». Spelling: -cre, like «acre». Past: massacred. Be careful: the joking sport sense should not be used near people who have lost family in real massacres.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «massacre» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/massacre/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«massacre» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/massacre.html) on Mova free.