pogrom

American  

[puh-gruhm, -grom, poh-] / pəˈgrʌm, -ˈgrɒm, poʊ- /

noun

1. an organized massacre, especially of Jews.

   Synonyms:

   butchery, slaughter

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pogrom British  

/ ˈpɒɡrəm /

noun

1. an organized persecution or extermination of an ethnic group, esp of Jews

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pogrom Cultural  

1. A massacre or persecution instigated by the government or by the ruling class against a minority group, particularly Jews (see also Jews).

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Discover More

Pogroms were common in Russia during the nineteenth century.

Etymology

Origin of pogrom

1880–85; (< Yiddish ) < Russian pogróm literally, destruction, devastation (of a town, country, etc., as in war), noun derivative of pogromít’, equivalent to po- perfective prefix + gromít’ to destroy, devastate, derivative of grom thunder

Example Sentences

"We thought we were safe. Our grandparents and great grandparents -- Holocaust survivors -- many of them came to here to escape hate and to escape bloodshed, pogrom, persecution," he said.

From Barron's

His Tevye, a patriarch trying to hold his family together amid the double assault of poverty and pogroms, was especially touching in his appeal to the Almighty to ease up on the litany of suffering.

From Los Angeles Times

While Jewish people had already been settling in the area, pogroms across Russia and neighbouring countries following the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881 saw more people arrive in an already-crowded part of town.

From BBC

The mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, described the incidents as deeply alarming, and noted for some they were a reminder of historical pogroms against Jews.

From BBC

For many, it was especially shocking coming on the eve of commemorations marking Kristallnacht, the 1938 Nazi pogroms against German Jews.

From BBC

Related Words

• annihilation
• bloodbath
• bloodletting
• butchery
• carnage
• extermination
• genocide