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genocide

[ jen-uh-sahyd ]
/ ˈdʒɛn əˌsaɪd /
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See synonyms for: genocide / genocides on Thesaurus.com

noun
the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group.

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Origin of genocide

First recorded in 1940–45; from Greek géno(s) “race” + -cide

OTHER WORDS FROM genocide

gen·o·cid·al, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use genocide in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for genocide

genocide
/ (ˈdʒɛnəʊˌsaɪd) /

noun
the policy of deliberately killing a nationality or ethnic group

Derived forms of genocide

genocidal, adjective

Word Origin for genocide

C20: from geno-, from Greek genos race + -cide
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for genocide

genocide
[ (jen-uh-seyed) ]

The deliberate destruction of an entire race or nation. The Holocaust conducted by the Nazis in Germany and the Rwandan genocide are examples of attempts at genocide.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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