killing
Causing someone's death
Killing is the act of causing death.
A killing can be a murder, an accident, or a justified act—the word itself carries no judgment about legitimacy.
To make a killing is to profit enormously, especially in business or gambling: She made a killing in real estate.
As an adjective, killing means exhausting: a killing pace, killing hours.
Deliberate unlawful killing
- manslaughterUnlawful killing without forethought
- assassinPaid murderer of targets
- assassinationMurder of a prominent figure
- perpetratorOne who commits wrongdoing
victim · crime · premeditated · intentional · malice · aforethought · culpable · felony
Causing death or ruin
- deadlyAble to cause expiration
- lethalCausing or capable of death
- deathCessation of life
- mortalSubject to death
murderous · bloodshed · slaughter · carnage · massacre · butchery · bloodbath · fatality
Execution by legal authority
- death penaltyLegal execution for crimes
- death sentenceJudicial order of execution
- death rowHousing for condemned prisoners
- lethal injectionCapital punishment by needle
electric chair · gallows · guillotine · firing squad · hangman · executioner · condemned · clemency
Animal being hunted
- quarryPit for extracting rock
- trophyAward for winning
- gameOrganized play or sport
- poachingUnlawful wildlife capture
cull · slaughter · harvest · trapping · snare · rifle · crosshairs · stalking
Unanticipated lucky gain
- fortuneWealth or destiny
- bonanzaSudden large windfall
- jackpotAccumulated gambling prize
- lucrativeYielding substantial profit
cash cow · goldmine · payday · big score · profitable · earnings
Extremely amusing
- funnyProvoking laughter or suspicion
- hystericalEmotionally out of control
- side-splittingExtremely amusing, causing convulsions
- comedicRelating to humor
punchline · knockout · smash hit · showstopper · crowd-pleaser · sensation · triumph
murder
Deliberate unlawful killing
- manslaughterUnlawful killing without forethought
- assassinPaid murderer of targets
- assassinationMurder of a prominent figure
perpetrator · victim · crime · premeditated · intentional · malice · aforethought · culpable · felony · prosecution
fatal
Causing death or ruin
mortal · murderous · bloodshed · slaughter · carnage · massacre · butchery · bloodbath · fatality · homicidal
capital punishment
Execution by legal authority
- death penaltyLegal execution for crimes
- death sentenceJudicial order of execution
- death rowHousing for condemned prisoners
lethal injection · electric chair · gallows · guillotine · firing squad · hangman · executioner · condemned · clemency · last meal
prey
Animal being hunted
poaching · cull · slaughter · harvest · trapping · snare · rifle · crosshairs · stalking · tracking
windfall
Unanticipated lucky gain
lucrative · cash cow · goldmine · payday · big score · profitable · earnings
hilarious
Extremely amusing
- funnyProvoking laughter or suspicion
- hystericalEmotionally out of control
- side-splittingExtremely amusing, causing convulsions
comedic · punchline · knockout · smash hit · showstopper · crowd-pleaser · sensation · triumph
- gerundswalking, running, talking, eating, sleeping
- carnagebloodshed, bloodbath, massacre, slaughter, butchery
- commandmentsTen Commandments, no other gods, honor thy parents, honor parents, no stealing
- harmharming, injury, hurting, abuse, injuring
- homicidehomicide, murder rate, murder rates, homicide rate, homicide rates
- literary deathdeath scene, deathbed, dying, corpse, funeral
killingsaving
Reserving for future use
sparing · reviving · resurrecting · rescuing · preserving
- killing timePassing moments idly
- killing meCausing uncontrollable laughter
- killing itSucceeding spectacularly
- making a killingProfiting enormously
- made a killingEarned exceptional profit
- killing two birds with one stoneAchieving two aims together