homicidal

adjective

ho·​mi·​cid·​al ˌhä-mə-ˈsī-dᵊl How to pronounce homicidal (audio) ˌhō- How to pronounce homicidal (audio)
Synonyms of homicidalnext
: of, relating to, or tending toward homicide
homicidally
ˌhä-mə-ˈsī-dᵊl-ē How to pronounce homicidal (audio)
ˌhō-
adverb

Synonyms of homicidal

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of homicidal in a Sentence

court-appointed psychiatrists have described the accused as a sociopath with homicidal tendencies who is a danger to himself and others
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In short, the ayatollahs don’t have to be crazy, homicidal fanatics in order to desire a nuclear weapon. — John M. Crisp, Mercury News, 25 June 2026 There was the first person to try the Oak Grove 100, and everyone else who kept up a tradition that proved to be homicidal. — Thomas Lake, AJC.com, 4 June 2026 The child is being held at a hospital for evaluation after making suicidal and homicidal statements to first responders, the sheriff’s office said. — Meriam Bouarrouj, NBC news, 23 May 2026 Proper was taken to a hospital, the complaint said, where law enforcement submitted an application for an emergency admission based on his homicidal ideations. — Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for homicidal

Word History

First Known Use

1725, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of homicidal was in 1725

Rhymes for homicidal

See All Rhymes for homicidal

Browse Nearby Words

homey
homicidal
homicide
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Homicidal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homicidal. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

homicidal

adjective
ho·​mi·​cid·​al ˌhäm-ə-ˈsīd-ᵊl How to pronounce homicidal (audio)
ˌhō-mə-
: of, relating to, or having tendencies toward the killing of another person : murderous
homicidally
-ˈsīd-ᵊl-ē How to pronounce homicidal (audio)
adverb

Medical Definition

Legal Definition

homicidal

adjective
ho·​mi·​ci·​dal ˌhä-mə-ˈsīd-ᵊl, ˌhō- How to pronounce homicidal (audio)
: of, relating to, or tending toward homicide

More from Merriam-Webster on homicidal

Nglish: Translation of homicidal for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All