Synonyms

slayer

American

[sley-er] / ˈsleɪ ər /

noun

a person who kills another person or creature, usually violently, or who destroys something.

In the movie, the prince is a dragon slayer on a mission to kill the dragon responsible for corrupting the heart of the king.
In Hindu legend, the goddess Kalaratri is worshiped as the slayer of darkness and ignorance.

Etymology

Origin of slayer

slay ( def. ) + -er ¹

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 first time “Buffy” ended, Gellar attempted to shake off the slayer with a slew of fascinating, genuinely provocative roles that utilized her skillset.

From Salon • Mar. 26, 2026

Actor Ryan Kiera Armstrong, who was set to lead the show as a supernatural slayer opposite Gellar, lamented the cancellation on Instagram.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026

Saint George is widely known as Christianity's most famous dragon slayer and is commonly depicted as a warrior holding a lance.

From Science Daily • Feb. 2, 2026

She developed a reputation as a giant slayer by outcompeting market-leader Intel a decade ago to take the lead in producing central processing units, or CPUs, for personal computers and data centers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

Angering a twenty-foot-tall drakon slayer probably wasn’t a wise strategy, but Percy was dying.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023