genocide

[ jen-uh-sahyd ]

/ ˈdʒɛn əˌsaɪd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR genocide ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

Nearby words

genoa, genoa cake, genoa salami, genocidaire, genocidal, genocide, genocopy, genodermatosis, genoese, genogram, genom

Origin of genocide

1940–45; < Greek géno(s) race + -cide

Related formsgen·o·cid·al, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for genocide

He was referring to the genocide of Muslims during the Bosnian War.
When Countries Lose Their Shit Over American Movies|Asawin Suebsaeng|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To get a resolution about genocide passed, he devised a letter-writing campaign.
The Man Who Invented the Word ‘Genocide’|Nina Strochlic|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
By WWII, Lemkin had been peddling his ideas on genocide for more than a decade.
The Man Who Invented the Word ‘Genocide’|Nina Strochlic|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Raphael Lemkin was, by all accounts, obsessed with genocide long before he invented a name for it.
The Man Who Invented the Word ‘Genocide’|Nina Strochlic|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Is it the one where we condemn the genocide of Native Americans?
Are Politicians Too Dumb to Understand the Lyrics to ‘Born in the USA’?|Parker Molloy|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The mystery of our failure at genocide forced an unpleasant decision on Benson.
The Test Colony|Winston Marks
Nuclear nightmares intermingled with Armenian and Jewish flashbacks of genocide.
After the Rain|Sam Vaknin
Genocide is defined as the extermination of a race of sapient beings.
Little Fuzzy|Henry Beam Piper
In a chance encounter with angry Serb mobs in the streets of Pristina he accused the Albanians of genocide.
After the Rain|Sam Vaknin
He didn't want to be accused of genocide, since the Lani were so human in appearance.
The Lani People|J. F. Bone

British Dictionary definitions for genocide

genocide

/ (ˈdʒɛnəʊˌsaɪd) /

noun

the policy of deliberately killing a nationality or ethnic group

Derived Formsgenocidal, 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

Word Origin and History for genocide

genocide

1944, apparently coined by Polish-born U.S. jurist Raphael Lemkin (1900-1959) in his work "Axis Rule in Occupied Europe" [p.19], in reference to Nazi extermination of Jews, literally "killing a tribe," from Greek genos "race, kind" (see genus) + -cide. The proper formation would be *genticide.

Generally speaking, genocide does not necessarily mean the immediate destruction of a nation, except when accomplished by mass killings of all members of a nation. It is intended rather to signify a coordinated plan of different actions aimed at the destruction of essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves. [Lemkin]

Earlier in a similar sense was populicide (1799), from French populicide, by 1792, a word from the Revolution. This was taken into German, e.g. Völkermeuchelnden "genocidal" (Heine), which was Englished 1893 as folk-murdering.

Culture 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.

genocide

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of genocide

Examples from the Web for genocide

British Dictionary definitions for genocide

genocide

noun

Word Origin for genocide

Word Origin and History for genocide

genocide

Culture definitions for genocide

genocide