murderous

English

WOTD – 12 May 2021

Etymology

From murder +‎ -ous (suffix forming adjectives from nouns denoting possession or presence of a quality).[1]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmɜːdəɹəs/, /ˈmɜːdɹəs/
Audio (RP) (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmɝdəɹəs/, /ˈmɝdɹəs/
Homophone: murderess (one pronunciation)
Hyphenation: mur‧der‧ous

Adjective

murderous (comparative more murderous, superlative most murderous)

Of, characterized by, or pertaining to murder or murderers.
- 1611, Randle Cotgrave, compiler, “Assassinat”, in A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongves, London: […] Adam Islip, OCLC 491770318, column 2:
  Aſſaſſinat: m. A murther, or murtherous act committed for gaine, or in hope of a reward; alſo, a ſuddaine aſſault, made of ſet purpoſe, and with a murtherous intent, although th' aſſaulted be not killed.
- 1878 October, “A Tussle with Yellow Jack”, in G[eorge] Bampfield, editor, S. Andrew’s Magazine, volume I, number 10, London: Burns & Oates, […], OCLC 503739687, page 1:
  Every time I heard the bell strike, that denotes the time on board a ship, I full of terror counted the hours until four o'clock; feeling sure that when that hour came, my enemies would begin their murderous attack.
- 1909, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 18, in Ridgway of Montana:
  While Harley had been in no way responsible for Pelton's murderous attack upon Yesler, public opinion held him to account.
- 2014 November 17, Roger Cohen, “The horror! The horror! The trauma of ISIS [print version: International New York Times, 18 November 2014, page 9]”, in The New York Times‎, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, ISSN 0362-4331, OCLC 971436363, archived from the original on 25 August 2017:
  [O]ne minute this "Jihadi John" was struggling to get by, and get accepted, in drizzly England, unemployed with a mortgage to pay and a chip on his shoulder, and the next he stands in brilliant Levantine sunlight, where everything is clear and etched, at the vanguard of some Sunni Risorgimento intent on subjecting the world to its murderous brand of Wahhabi Islam.
Of a person: intending or likely to commit murder; bloodthirsty, homicidal.
Synonym: (obsolete) assassinous
Antonyms: nonmurderous, unmurderous
murderous behaviour
She gave me a murderous look.
- 1659, Richard Baxter, “Reproving Our Unwillingness to Die”, in The Saints Everlasting Rest: Or, A Treatise of the Blessed State of the Saints in Their Enjoyment of God in Glory. […], 8th edition, London: […] Thomas Underhill and Francis Tyton, […], OCLC 1227530240, part IV, section V, page 603:
  Is any man loth to leave his priſon? or to remove his dwelling from cruel enemies? or to ſcape the hands of murderous robbers? Do we take the world indeed for our priſon? our cruel, ſpoyling, murderous foe? and yet we are loth to leave it?
- 1662, John Reynolds, “History XI”, in The Triumphs of Gods Revenge against the Crying and Execrable Sin of Murther. […] Book III, London: […] A. M. for William Lee, […], OCLC 771714104, page 152:
  De Salez her Husband ſtriving and ſtrugling for life againſt the pangs of death; fear and haſt (contrary to her intent and mind) had ſo made his murtherous wifes hand ſhake and tremble, as ſhe did not ſo fully cut his throat-bole, but he could yet both cry and groan, which he did very mournfully, and which indeed was ſoon over-heard by a man and a maid-ſervant of his, […]
- 1711, Obedience to Civil Government Clearly Stated: […], London: […] George Strahan, […], OCLC 753166894, page 34:
  Adam alſo was the High Prieſt, and received Authority from God, to teach the ſucceeding Generations of Men how to worſhip God, and what Sacrifices were to be offered by Cain and Abel, and all Poſterity. By which Sacrifices were brought into all Nations, to apply the Blood of the Lamb, ſlain from the foundation of the World, in the unalterable Purpoſes of God, to the Conſciences of all Men for the Remiſſion of their Sins, and to Excommunicate murderous Cain from the preſence of the Lord, […]
(often figuratively) Of an object: used to commit murder; capable of causing death; deadly, fatal.
Antonyms: nonmurderous, unmurderous
- 1782, [Frederick the Great], “Book VI”, in [anonymous], transl., The Art of War; […] Translated from the French of the King of Prussia, 2nd edition, London: […] G. Riley, […], OCLC 989123793, page 56:
  The rapid ſquadrons ſwift as thought engage, / And ſeek the hoſtile troops who ſhun their rage, / 'Midſt the thick clouds which ſmoak and duſt afford / With dreadful luſtre gleams the murderous ſword; […]
- 1796, John Brown, “Of the Law of Nature”, in A Compendious View of Natural and Revealed Religion. […], 2nd edition, Edinburgh: […] Murray & Cochrane, OCLC 1119824941, book I (Of the Regulating Standard of Religion, Natural and Revealed), page 25:
  In neceſſary ſelf-defence men have a right to kill their aſſailants. But duelling is unlawful and murderous, a remain of the ancient Gothic barbarity.
- 1912, George A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter XXI, in The Red Hand of Ulster, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], OCLC 1719147, page 255:
  In street fighting at close quarters a gun of this kind is very murderous and ought to do a terrible amount of destruction.
(by extension) Very difficult.
Synonyms: killing; see also Thesaurus:difficult
Antonyms: see Thesaurus:easy
a murderous exam
conditions were murderous

Alternative forms

murtherous (obsolete)

Derived terms

murderously
murderousness
nonmurderous
unmurderous

Related terms

murder
murderer
murderess
murderingly
murdering (noun)
murder weapon
murder will out
nonmurder
nonmurderer
unmurder
unmurdered (adjective)

Translations

of, characterized by, or pertaining to murder or murderers

Bulgarian: убийствен (bg) (ubijstven)
Yiddish: מערדערלעך‎ (merderlekh), מערדעריש‎ (merderish), רציחהדיק‎ (retsíkhedik), רצחניש‎ (ratskhonish)

likely to commit murder — See also translations at homicidal

Arabic: قَتُول‎ (qatūl)
Aramaic:
Classical Syriac: ܩܛܘܠܐ‎
Armenian:
Old Armenian: մարդասպան (mardaspan)
Catalan: assassí (ca)
Czech: vražedný (cs)
Dutch: moordzuchitg
Esperanto: murda, murdema
Finnish: murhaava (fi), murhanhimoinen (fi)
French: meurtrier (fr)
Georgian: სასიკვდილო (sasiḳvdilo)
German: mörderisch (de)
Greek: δολοφονικός (el) m (dolofonikós), φονικός (el) m (fonikós)
Ancient: ἀνδροδάικτος (androdáiktos), φονικός (phonikós)
Hungarian: gyilkos (hu)
Italian: letale (it), micidiale (it), mortale (it), omicida (it), omicidiario
Latin: internecīvus
Latvian: slepkavīgs
Malayalam: കൊലപാതക (kolapātaka)
Middle English: dedly
Norwegian:
Bokmål: morderisk
Nynorsk: mordarisk
Romanian: asasin (ro), ucigaș (ro), ucigător (ro)
Russian: крова́вый (ru) (krovávyj)
Sanskrit: हिंस्र (sa) (hiṃsra)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: у̏битачан, у̀бојит
Roman: ȕbitačan (sh), ùbojit (sh)
Spanish: asesino (es), homicida (es)
Swedish: mordisk (sv)
Yiddish: מערדעריש‎ (merderish), רציחהדיק‎ (retsíkhedik), רצחניש‎ (ratskhonish)

used to commit murder; capable of causing death — See also translations at deadly,‎ fatal

Aramaic:
Classical Syriac: ܩܛܘܠܐ‎
Catalan: assassí (ca)
French: meurtrier (fr)
Georgian: სასიკვდილო (sasiḳvdilo)
Hungarian: gyilkos (hu)
Italian: micidiale (it)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: у̏битачан
Roman: ȕbitačan (sh)
Swedish: dödlig (sv)
Yiddish: מערדערלעך‎ (merderlekh)

very difficult

Bulgarian: много труден (mnogo truden)
German: mörderisch (de)
Greek: φονικός (el) m (fonikós)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: morderisk
Nynorsk: mordarisk
Swedish: mördande (sv)

References

“murderous, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2003; “murderous, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.