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Synonyms

genocide

American  
[jen-uh-sahyd] / ˈdʒɛn əˌsaɪd /

noun

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

genocide British  
/ ˈdʒɛnəʊˌsaɪd /

noun

  1. the policy of deliberately killing a nationality or ethnic group

"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
genocide Cultural  

  1. 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.

Other Word Forms

  • genocidal adjective

Etymology

Origin of genocide

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

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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.

The diplomatic dispute arises from the ambiguous role that Rwanda, best known to many Americans for the 1994 genocide, now plays as a regional strongman.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Several attendees accused the pair of being "genocide supporters", shouting "boo" and "get out of here" as a mosque leader gave a speech calling for the government to better engage with Muslim Australians.

From BBC • Mar. 19, 2026

While denying offering the M23 military backing, Rwanda insists that it faces an existential threat from the presence in the eastern DRC of armed groups linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide of the Tutsis.

From Barron's • Mar. 11, 2026

Rwanda denies supporting M23 and says its troops are in eastern Congo for “defensive measures” against a rebel group formed by Hutu extremists who orchestrated the 1994 genocide in Rwanda before fleeing to Congo.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

The United Nations now defines genocide as an act, or acts, “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

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.