massacre

/ˈmæs.ə.kə(ɹ)/

//ˈmæs.ə.kə(ɹ)// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"massacre" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“massacre” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,169. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,169
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The killing of a considerable number (usually limited to people) where little or no resistance can be made, with indiscriminate violence, without necessity, and/or contrary to civilized norms.

Corpus desk

Index EN-massacre · massacre · English

massacre · rank #8,169 · 10 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,169
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH lone

Nearest frequency peer: lone (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “massacre”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “massacre” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

massacre vs massage
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for massacre
PropertyValue
Headwordmassacre
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmæs.ə.kə(ɹ)/
Letters8
Frequency rank#8,169
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “massacre”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).massacrelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “lone” (#8,168), “meme” (#8,170), “likelihood” (#8,167). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “massacre” is #8,169. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around massacre (IPA /ˈmæs.ə.kə(ɹ)/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #8,169 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for massacre, with forms such as "amssacre", "masacre", and "masascre". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "massage", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: 1580, from Middle French massacre, from Old French macacre, marcacre, macecre, macecle (“slaughterhouse, butchery”), usually thought to be deverbal from Old French macecrer, macecler (“to slaughter”), though the noun seems to be attested somewhat earlier. I… The correct English form is massacre, spelled M-A-S-S-A-C-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The killing of a considerable number (usually limited to people) where little or no resistance can be made, with indiscriminate violence, without necessity, and/or contrary to civilized norms.
  2. 2
    Murder.
  3. 3
    Any overwhelming defeat, as in a game or sport.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how massacre appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre
  2. Massacres of Diyarbekir

Etymology

1580, from Middle French massacre, from Old French macacre, marcacre, macecre, macecle (“slaughterhouse, butchery”), usually thought to be deverbal from Old French macecrer, macecler (“to slaughter”), though the noun seems to be attested somewhat earlier. It is also found in Medieval Latin mazacrium (“massacre, slaughter, killing”, also “the head of a newly killed stag”). Further origin disputed: * From Latin macellum (“butcher shop”). * From Vulgar Latin *matteuculāre, from *matteuca (cf. massue), from Late Latin mattea, mattia, from Latin mateola. * From Middle Low German *matskelen (“to massacre”) (compare German metzeln (“massacre”)), frequentative of matsken, matzgen (“to cut, hew”), from Proto-West Germanic *maitan, from Proto-Germanic *maitaną (“to cut”), from Proto-Indo-European *mei- (“small”). Akin to Old High German meizan (“to cut”) among others. * Note also Arabic مَجْزَرَة (majzara), originally “spot where animals are slaughtered”, now also “massacre”, and in Maghrebi Arabic “slaughterhouse”. Derived from جَزَرَ (jazara, “to cut, slaughter”).

Synonyms

butcheryslaughterdecimation

This word in other languages

masacre(Español)massacre(Français)Massaker(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amssacre
  • masacre
  • masascre
  • massaccre
  • massacer
  • massacrre
  • massarce
  • masscare
  • mmassacre
  • msasacre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of massacre - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

amssacre2masacre1masascre2massaccre1massacer2massacrre1massarce2masscare2
Edit distance from "massacre"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "massacre"?
"massacre" is spelled M-A-S-S-A-C-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmæs.ə.kə(ɹ)/.
What does "massacre" mean?
As a noun, "massacre" means: The killing of a considerable number (usually limited to people) where little or no resistance can be made, with indiscriminate violence, without necessity, and/or contrary to civilized norms.
What words are commonly confused with "massacre"?
"massacre" is commonly confused with "massage". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "massacre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "massacre" is /ˈmæs.ə.kə(ɹ)/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "massacre"?
1580, from Middle French massacre, from Old French macacre, marcacre, macecre, macecle (“slaughterhouse, butchery”), usually thought to be deverbal from Old French macecrer, macecler (“to slaughter”), though the noun seems to be attested somewhat ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "massacre", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

nickname#8,176observer#8,178immunity#8,159offshore#8,179

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

glance10 variantsstamps10 variantscatalog10 variantsborrowed10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list