adjective
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intending, capable of, or guilty of murder
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informal very dangerous, difficult, or unpleasant
a murderous road
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of murderous
Explanation
A person who's murderous is cruel and violent enough to kill someone. If you are experiencing a murderous rage, it's best to stay inside and away from the public. A murderer, someone who kills deliberately, can be described as murderous. You can also use this adjective in an exaggerated way, simply to emphasize how mad someone is, like when you describe your brother's murderous expression when he realizes you've eaten the last of his Halloween candy. Murderous comes from murder, which in turn has its roots in the Old English morðor, "unlawful killing."
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 extended 75-minute debut episode starts at 20:00 BST on Thursday, with Claudia Winkleman again hosting the murderous game.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
The landscape was bleak even before Macbeth heard the fateful prophecy and embarked on his murderous adventure—Ms. Proske’s production suggests that the impulse toward tyranny never ends.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
The bee team fighting a murderous hornet invasion.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard, the tale of silent film star Norma Desmond’s descent into murderous derangement as her Hollywood comeback stays out of frame, is the other.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
“That’s a pretty murderous way to hit a ball. You almost killed me.”
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
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.
