slay

[ sley ]

SEE DEFINITION OF slay

verbkill

Synonyms for slay

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Antonyms for slay

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EXAMPLES FROM THE WEB FOR SLAY

The sphinx did not slay herself until her riddle had been guessed.

When Cain wished to slay his brother, he was at no loss for a weapon.

I will mend the sword and Siegfried shall use it to slay the dragon.

Sometimes they slay their own wives, and invite their neighbours to the repast.

He will slay more men in a day than a troop of horse in a ten-mile chase.

It was their custom to slay the unjust, and to come to the aid of the oppressed.

You cannot slay them all—and if you did, there would be more.

The one will kill the other; the iron will slay the stone, and the time is not very far off.

He was her betrayer, her assassin, for he tried to slay her soul.

My son will be here presently,” said she, “and he will slay thee.

WORD ORIGIN

Old English slean "to smite, strike, beat," also "to kill with a weapon, slaughter" (class VI strong verb; past tense sloh, slog, past participle slagen), from Proto-Germanic *slahan, from root *slog- "to hit" (cf. Old Norse and Old Frisian sla, Danish slaa, Middle Dutch slaen, Dutch slaan, Old High German slahan, German schlagen, Gothic slahan "to strike"). The Germanic words are from PIE root *slak- "to strike" (cf. Middle Irish past participle slactha "struck," slacc "sword").

Modern German cognate schlagen maintains the original sense of "to strike." Meaning "overwhelm with delight" (mid-14c.) preserves one of the wide range of meanings the word once had, including, in Old English, "stamp (coins); forge (weapons); throw, cast; pitch (a tent), to sting (of a snake); to dash, rush, come quickly; play (the harp); gain by conquest."

slay

EXAMPLES FROM THE WEB FOR SLAY

WORD ORIGIN

MORE RELATED WORDS FOR SLAY

amuse

assassinate

attract

attracted

attracting

attracts