I. ˈmasə̇kə(r), ˈmaas-, -sēk-, substand -səˌkrē transitive verb
( massacred ; massacred ; massacring -k(ə)riŋ, substand -səˌkrēiŋ ; massacres )
Etymology: Middle French massacrer, from Old French macecrer, from maçacre, n.
1.
a. : to kill by massacre : slaughter
the Spaniards were neatly massacred — Green Peyton
b. : to murder or kill (a person) especially with violence or cruelty
2. : mangle , mutilate
some people who ordinarily massacre grammar — S.L.Payne
got the knife, and massacred the bag — Carolyn Hannay
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French, from Old French maçacre
1.
a. : the act or an instance of killing a considerable number of human beings under circumstances of atrocity or cruelty : a wholesale slaughter
the massacre of most of the surviving crew by natives — F.R.Dulles
the Indians suffered as many massacres as they inflicted — R.S.Cotterill
b. : a peculiarly cruel or wanton act of murder or killing
went … to avenge the massacre of a brother and a cousin — Elizabeth H. West
c. : a wholesale or wanton slaughter of animals
a whale hunt and massacre — Brenda Maguire
great massacres of foxes — T.B.Macaulay
2. : an act of thorough destruction : mangling
the author's massacre of traditional federalist presuppositions — R.G.McCloskey
a massacre of sense and grammar