homicide
One ends another
Homicide is the killing of one person by another.
The term is neutral—it covers murder, manslaughter, and justifiable killings like self-defense.
Legal systems distinguish between criminal homicide and lawful homicide: The shooting was ruled a justifiable homicide.
In police jargon, homicide refers to the detective division investigating deaths: She works homicide.
Deliberate unlawful killing
- manslaughterUnlawful killing without forethought
- filicideMurdering one's own child
- sororicideMurdering one's own sister
- serial killingSuccessive homicides by one person
mass killing · spree killing · honor killing · assassination
Killing and wounding
- brutalitySavage, merciless behavior
- slayingAct of killing
- killingCausing death deliberately
- carnageWidespread violent death
assault · attack · stabbing · shooting · bludgeoning · strangulation · weapon · gun
Planned before acting
- malice aforethoughtPrior intent to harm
- first-degreeMost or least severe
- intentionalDone on purpose
- cold-bloodedUnfeeling or externally heated
calculated · deliberate · assassination · hitman · killer · contract killing · execution-style · serial
No longer living
- fatalityDeath from accident
- victimOne harmed by another
- demiseCessation of existence
- mortalityState of eventual death
corpse · cadaver · funeral · bereavement · grief · cemetery · grave · coroner
Serious criminal offense
- perpetratorOne who commits wrongdoing
- offenseViolation or umbrage
- prosecutionPursuing legal charges
- convictionFirmly held belief
incarceration · defendant · indictment · arraignment · sentence · penitentiary · wrongdoing · illegality
Not under conscious control
- negligenceFailure to exercise care
- recklessnessCareless disregard for danger
- unintentionalNot done on purpose
- accidentalOccurring by chance
vehicular · heat of passion · provocation · diminished capacity · unpremeditated · self-defense · culpable · gross negligence
Medical examination after death
- crime sceneLocation of an offense
- evidenceFacts supporting truth
- DNAHereditary code molecule
- fingerprintsRidge patterns identifying individuals
bloodstains · ballistics · toxicology · pathology · coroner · investigation · trace evidence · serology
murder
Deliberate unlawful killing
- manslaughterUnlawful killing without forethought
- filicideMurdering one's own child
- sororicideMurdering one's own sister
mass killing · serial killing · spree killing · honor killing · assassination
bloodshed
Killing and wounding
carnage · assault · attack · stabbing · shooting · bludgeoning · strangulation · weapon · gun · knife
premeditated
Planned before acting
- malice aforethoughtPrior intent to harm
- first-degreeMost or least severe
- intentionalDone on purpose
cold-blooded · calculated · deliberate · assassination · hitman · killer · contract killing · execution-style · serial · mass
deceased
No longer living
mortality · corpse · cadaver · funeral · bereavement · grief · cemetery · grave · coroner · obituary
felony
Serious criminal offense
- perpetratorOne who commits wrongdoing
- offenseViolation or umbrage
- prosecutionPursuing legal charges
conviction · incarceration · defendant · indictment · arraignment · sentence · penitentiary · wrongdoing · illegality · culprit
involuntary
Not under conscious control
- negligenceFailure to exercise care
- recklessnessCareless disregard for danger
- unintentionalNot done on purpose
accidental · vehicular · heat of passion · provocation · diminished capacity · unpremeditated · self-defense · culpable · gross negligence · mitigating circumstances
autopsy
Medical examination after death
- crime sceneLocation of an offense
- evidenceFacts supporting truth
- DNAHereditary code molecule
fingerprints · bloodstains · ballistics · toxicology · pathology · coroner · investigation · trace evidence · serology · luminol
revenge
Punishing a wrongdoer
- vendettaProlonged retaliatory conflict
- jealousyResentful desire for another's advantages
- rageIntense, violent anger
greed · hatred · passion · robbery · domestic · random · premeditation · malice · intent · cover-up
- criminal investigationsinvestigations, crime scene, crime scenes, crime scene investigation, crime scene analysis
- criminal justicearrest, jail, court, prison, crime
- criminal lawcrime, felony, misdemeanor, murder, robbery
- forensicsDNA, DNA analysis, fingerprints, forensics, criminalistics
- -cide wordsfungicide, bactericide, germicide, filicide, sororicide
- criminal chargesarson, burglary, kidnapping, robbery, treason
homicidebirth
Coming into the world
childbirth · conception · resurrection · procreation · life-giving
homiciderescue
Save from harm
save · lifesaving · resuscitation · preservation of life · revival
- homicide investigationExamining a killing officially
- homicide detectiveOfficer solving unlawful deaths
- negligent homicideCausing death by recklessness
- homicide casesInvestigations into unlawful killings
- homicide rateKillings per population unit
- homicide unitLaw enforcement death investigators