adjective
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intending, capable of, or guilty of murder
-
informal very dangerous, difficult, or unpleasant
a murderous road
Other Word Forms
- murderously adverb
- murderousness noun
- nonmurderous adjective
Etymology
Origin of murderous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And yet how many Americans haven’t stared down a hardwood alley with murderous intent, preparing to unload a polished missile against 10 arrogant pins?
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026
Keith David, who plays real-life activist minister Henry H. Garnet, gives a seven-minute speech on education as if he’s performing a Shakespearean monologue, after which he faces down a murderous sheriff like he’s Shaft.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2026
To be clear, the incident, shown from a couple different angles, does not show murderous intent from the driver.
From Slate • Jan. 7, 2026
The single combat involves swinging a conker -- a hardened horse chestnut -- on a string at your opponent's nut with murderous venom, until one is smashed to pieces.
From Barron's • Oct. 17, 2025
A beautiful French spy escapes murderous Gestapo agents in Paris; in the North Sea, British navy sailors brave a suicide mission against enemy submarines.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
