genocide
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of genocide
First recorded in 1940–45; from Greek géno(s) “race” + -cide
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How does genocide compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Genocide refers to the systematic destruction of a race or cultural group. In the Rwandan genocide of 1994, members of one ethnic group, the Hutus, killed some 850,000 Tutsis in an attempt to wipe them out completely. Genocide was coined in 1944 by a Polish-Jewish scholar named Raphael Lemkin in response to the Holocaust. In 1948, the United Nations defined genocide as any of several acts (including murder) "committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group..."
Vocabulary lists containing genocide
Frankenwords: Words with Roots from Different Languages
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Human Geography - High School
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President Trump's Second State of the Union Address (2019)
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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 RPF was founded as a rebel group by Tutsi exiles including Paul Kagame, now president, to fight the Hutu regime behind the genocide, which it forced from power.
From BBC • May 7, 2026
This enables visitors to ask questions that prompt real-time responses from pre-recorded video interviews with Holocaust survivors and other witnesses to genocide.
From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2026
Suu Kyi travelled to The Hague to rebut charges of genocide against them at the UN's top court in 2019 -- tanking her reputation on the international circuit.
From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026
There’s no attempt to describe the victims of genocide as responsible for their own fate.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
Europe's defenders argue that the mass deaths cannot be described as genocide.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
