butcher 1 of 2

noun

ˈbu̇-chər How to pronounce butcher (audio)
Definition of butchernext
as in blunderer
someone who bungles an effort the newest intern on the campaign is a butcher when it comes to writing press releases

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

butcher

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to slaughter
to kill on a large scale the barbarians butchered the monks in the monasteries without mercy

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2
as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way the new piano student butchered the sonatina

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of butcher
Noun
Independent grocery stores and butchers that use the same refrigeration system may also have been affected. — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 13 Oct. 2026 Police from Flat Rock, Rockwood and Gibraltar saw Labadie about 10 minutes after the 911 call in a parking lot behind the butcher shop and took him into custody. — Dejanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
Verb
Indirect signs also suggest the proto-Neolithic community also dined on the European glass lizard (Pseudopus apodus), which featured tough scales that necessitated a completely different type of butchering. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 20 Aug. 2026 But isn’t the manager culpable when his dugout repeatedly butchers fundamental baserunning and defensive basics? — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 17 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for butcher
Recent Examples of Synonyms for butcher
  1. incompetent
  2. slaughter
  3. fumble
  4. blow
  5. murder
  6. dub
  7. mangle
  8. ruin
Noun
  • The Dodgers reached the pinnacle honestly, in a capitalistic structure that properly hands no favors to the incompetent.
    — Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Jan. 2026
Definition of incompetent
Verb
  • White militias destroyed their homes, torched their food supplies, and slaughtered them outright so routinely that a secondary economy of kidnappers sprang up to sell the survivors, children and adults alike, into servitude.
    — Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Twenty-thousand horses go to slaughter every year in America.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of slaughter
Verb
  • On the first play of Rutgers' next drive, Surace was sacked at the Rutgers 8 and fumbled with Northwestern’s Jamaal Johnson recovering.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The Chiefs actually missed a 43-yard field goal that would have won the game in regulation — after Justin Houston forced Lamar Jackson to fumble — but won the game with a short kick in overtime.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of fumble
Verb
  • These higher-than-usual high tides are supercharged by winds blowing onshore, pushing more seawater on land.
    — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 27 Oct. 2026
  • While Healey is expected to let a reduction in his fiscal buffer do most of the work on the basis that the Iran war has blown a hole in his accounts, tax increases are still likely.
    — Ian King, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of blow
Verb
  • Peltola, during a candidate forum Friday, became emotional speaking about the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people and said additional law enforcement resources are needed.
    — Becky Bohrer, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Peltola, during a candidate forum Friday, became emotional speaking about the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous people and said additional law enforcement resources are needed.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of murder
Verb
  • Poison Ivy, created by Carmine Infantino and Robert Kanigher, was dubbed by DC Comics as Batman’s Floral Femme Fatale.
    — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Even British Vogue has highlighted its revival, dubbing it the ’00s messy-prep revival piece.
    — Joe Bobowicz, Vogue, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of dub
Verb
  • The bit caught a pipe strap and wrenched him off a ladder, tearing off his thumb and mangling his hand.
    — Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Photos showed his paws mangled and covered with open red sores.
    — Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of mangle
Verb
  • One accidental move could ruin the attempt, requiring a correction at best, and a possible restart at worst.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Others have used it to remove oily stains from their toddlers like crayon marks on carpet, and one reviewer says it’s saved many of their clothes from being ruined in a household with unavoidable messes from both kids and pets.
    — Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of ruin

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Cite this Entry

“Butcher.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/butcher. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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