massacre
mass·a·cre/ˈmæs.ə.kə(ɹ)/noun, verb
massacre is spelled M-A-S-S-A-C-R-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables (mass·a·cre). It appears 8.1 times per million words in written English, the 8,146th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). 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…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of massacre is massacres.
How many letters and syllables are in massacre?
| Letters | 8: M-A-S-S-A-C-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: mass·a·cre |
| In writing | 8.1 times per million words; the 8,146th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is massacre?
Massacre appears 8.1 times per million words in written English, the 8,146th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce massacre?
- /ˈmæs.ə.kə(ɹ)/
Massacre has 3 syllables, split mass·a·cre in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-massacre.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of massacre
- massacres plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- massacring participle, present
- massacred participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does massacre mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 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.
St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre
- 2
obsoleteMurder.
- 3
Any overwhelming defeat, as in a game or sport.
verb
- 1
To kill in considerable numbers where little or no resistance can be made, with indiscriminate violence, without necessity, and contrary to civilized norms. (Often limited to the killing of human beings.)
- 2
To win against (an opponent) very decisively.
- 3
To perform (a work, such as a musical piece or a play) very poorly.
- 4
proscribedTo kill with great force or brutality.
Look how they massacred my boy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Massacre in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | massacre , massacrer |
| German | Massaker, Gemetzel , massakrieren, niedermetzeln, abschlachten |
| Portuguese | massacre , massacrar |
| Spanish | masacre , masacrar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does massacre come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).