murdered
Took a life
Murdered is the past tense of murder—to kill someone unlawfully and with intent.
The word carries moral weight that "killed" doesn't: He murdered his business partner for the insurance money.
Informally, murdered can mean defeated decisively (We got murdered in the finals) or ruined (She murdered that song).
Act of killing
- killingCausing death deliberately
- bloodshedKilling and wounding
- brutalitySavage, merciless behavior
- stabbedPierced with blade
shot · strangled · bludgeoned · slaughtered · butchered · executed · beaten · ambushed
Causing another's death
- manslaughterUnlawful killing without forethought
- felonySerious criminal offense
- premeditatedPlanned before acting
- first-degreeMost or least severe
second-degree · prosecution · trial · verdict · sentencing · conviction · indictment · arraignment
Professional crime investigator
- forensicsScientific crime-scene analysis
- evidenceFacts supporting truth
- cluesHints toward answers
- autopsyMedical examination after death
ballistics · DNA · fingerprints · coroner · interrogation · witness · alibi · motive
deceased
No longer living
corpse · body · casualty · fatality · widow · orphan · bereaved · grief · mourning · funeral
slaying
Act of killing
stabbed · shot · strangled · bludgeoned · slaughtered · butchered · executed · beaten · ambushed · attacked
homicide
Causing another's death
- manslaughterUnlawful killing without forethought
- felonySerious criminal offense
- premeditatedPlanned before acting
first-degree · second-degree · prosecution · trial · verdict · sentencing · conviction · indictment · arraignment · parole
detective
Professional crime investigator
autopsy · ballistics · DNA · fingerprints · coroner · interrogation · witness · alibi · motive · unsolved
killer
One who causes death
perpetrator · hitman · executioner · slayer · gunman · strangler · poisoner · assailant · convict · defendant
whodunit
Crime fiction identifying perpetrator
suspects · intrigue · suspense · puzzle · culprit · reveal · motive · locked-room · procedural
- murder mysteryFiction about solving killings
- getting away with murderEscaping deserved punishment entirely
- get away with murderEscape punishment for wrongdoing
- got away with murderAvoided deserved punishment
- murder weaponItem used to kill
- axe murdererOne who kills with a chopping tool