murderer
One who kills
A murderer is a person who commits murder—the unlawful, deliberate killing of another human being.
The term carries moral weight beyond legal designation; calling someone a murderer implies not just that they killed, but that they did so with intent and without justification: The jury found him guilty, but his family refused to call him a murderer.
Serial murderers kill multiple victims over time.
Mass murderers kill many at once.
One who commits wrongdoing
- killerOne who causes death
- slayerOne who kills
- felonSerious crime perpetrator
- convictJailed offender after trial
offender · culprit · suspect · fugitive · outlaw · defendant · inmate · gangster
Professional paid murderer
- sniperConcealed precision shooter
- gunmanArmed violent person
- triggermanHired killer with firearm
- poisonerOne who kills toxically
sharpshooter · mercenary · liquidator · eliminator · covert · infiltrator · ninja · silenced
One harmed by another
- corpseDeceased human body
- bodyPhysical structure, living thing
- deceasedNo longer living
- remainsContinues in place
morgue · autopsy · burial · funeral · grave · cemetery · casket · cremation
Profound moral wickedness
- wickedEvil or slang-excellent
- sinisterThreateningly suggestive of harm
- viciousCruelly aggressive in nature
- cruelWillfully causing suffering
heartless · inhuman · brutal · savage · heinous · monstrous · diabolical · fiendish
Planned before acting
- calculatedFigured out mathematically
- deliberateConsciously chosen, not accidental
- intentionalDone on purpose
- plannedDecided on beforehand
plotting · scheming · conspiracy · methodical · cunning · meticulous · orchestrated · forethought
Person without conscience
- sociopathOne without conscience
- derangedMentally disturbed, irrational
- disturbedEmotionally or mentally unsettled
- unhingedMentally or emotionally unstable
remorseless · cold-blooded · sadistic · twisted · predatory · obsessive · compulsive · deviant
Maternal murder
- patricideMurder of one's father
- fratricideKilling one's own brother
- infanticideKilling of newborns
- regicideMurdering a monarch
genocide · filicide · parricide · familicide · tyrannicide
Wounding with a blade
- stranglingCompressing throat to suffocate
- bludgeoningStriking with weight
- shootingDischarging a weapon
- bloodshedKilling and wounding
brutality · assault · attack · struggle · overkill · dismemberment · mutilation · torture
perpetrator
One who commits wrongdoing
convict · offender · culprit · suspect · fugitive · outlaw · defendant · inmate · gangster · mobster
hitman
Professional paid murderer
- sniperConcealed precision shooter
- gunmanArmed violent person
- triggermanHired killer with firearm
poisoner · sharpshooter · mercenary · liquidator · eliminator · covert · infiltrator · ninja · silenced · execution-style
victim
One harmed by another
remains · morgue · autopsy · burial · funeral · grave · cemetery · casket · cremation · obituary
evil
Profound moral wickedness
- wickedEvil or slang-excellent
- sinisterThreateningly suggestive of harm
- viciousCruelly aggressive in nature
cruel · heartless · inhuman · brutal · savage · heinous · monstrous · diabolical · fiendish · vile
premeditated
Planned before acting
- calculatedFigured out mathematically
- deliberateConsciously chosen, not accidental
- intentionalDone on purpose
planned · plotting · scheming · conspiracy · methodical · cunning · meticulous · orchestrated · forethought · stalking
psychopath
Person without conscience
- sociopathOne without conscience
- derangedMentally disturbed, irrational
- disturbedEmotionally or mentally unsettled
unhinged · remorseless · cold-blooded · sadistic · twisted · predatory · obsessive · compulsive · deviant · antisocial
matricide
Maternal murder
- patricideMurder of one's father
- fratricideKilling one's own brother
- infanticideKilling of newborns
regicide · genocide · filicide · parricide · familicide · tyrannicide
stabbing
Wounding with a blade
- stranglingCompressing throat to suffocate
- bludgeoningStriking with weight
- shootingDischarging a weapon
bloodshed · brutality · assault · attack · struggle · overkill · dismemberment · mutilation · torture · beating
- rule breakersrulebreaker, transgressor, violator, offender, lawbreaker
- criminalsthief, burglar, criminal, killer, robber
- sinnerssinner, transgressor, evildoer, wrongdoer, blasphemer
- attackersaggressor, assailant, attacker, assaulter, ambusher
- mystery fictionwhodunit, whodunnit, sleuth, detective novel, detective fiction
- dangersdanger, peril, hazard, risk, menace
murdererinnocent
Free from moral wrong
acquitted · exonerated · bystander · civilian
- 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
murder, murdered, murderous, murders, murdering, murderers, murderess, murderesses