(in the Bible) a deity whose worship was marked by the sacrifice of children by their own parents.
anything conceived of as requiring appalling sacrifice.
the Moloch of war.
moloch, a spiny agamid lizard, Moloch horridus, of Australian deserts, that resembles the horned lizard.
Moloch also appears as one of the fallen angels in Milton's Paradise Lost and as a malevolent figure in other allegorical works of literature.
By extension, a “Moloch” is something that has the power to exact extreme sacrifice.
From Late Latin, from Greek Molóch, from Hebrew Mōlekh, which has the consonants of melekh “king” and the vowels of bōsheth “shame” (caused by idolatry and human sacrifice)
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"It is not the time" to question Moloch.
From Salon • May 27, 2022
Their most enthusiastic defender was J Michael Straczynski, who wrote the Nite Owl, Moloch, and Dr Manhattan prequels.
From The Guardian • Dec. 23, 2019
Then it was down to business: Moloch raised an army of ghouls up from their graves, and the battle was joined.
From New York Times • Dec. 1, 2014
Of course he is, because he hates Crane and sold his soul to Moloch in order to avenge Crane’s betrayal.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2014
The word Moloch is evidently derived from Melk, which was the same as Melcom or Melcon, the divinity of the thousand women in the seraglio of Solomon; to-wit, seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines.
From A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 10 (of 10) From "The Works of Voltaire - A Contemporary Version" by Fran?ois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
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.
