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homicidal

homicidal

56 7.8
A person likely to kill someone
  • adjective
  • /ˌhɒmɪˈsaɪdəl/
  • NSFW
: homicida
  • Some believe that those two factors alone can trigger homicidal mania.
  • homicidal ideation
  • suicidal or homicidal
  • homicidal act

So I told you about the homicidal ideation, didn't you?

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Examples

  • The film portrayed a homicidal character who terrorized the town, leaving everyone in fear.

  • Those drugs have a black box warning on them that says they cause homicidal and suicidal behavior.

  • People will lock themselves in like a homicidal embrace for decades because of that.

  • So extraordinary are they that I find myself forgetting their homicidal nature.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • I think that equals sufficient homicidal motive, in my book.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Is he a homicidal maniac who hates you on sight?

  • We'd already heard about the escaped homicidal maniac on the radio.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • The patient apparently suffers from acute obsessional syndrome with potential homicidal tendencies.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • The news reported that the suspect had been involved in numerous homicidal incidents over the past year.

  • After a series of troubling events, the psychologist determined that he exhibited homicidal tendencies.

Synonyms

murderous
vshomicidal
  • NSFW
76 6.4

Very violent and likely to kill

is specifically about likely intent to commit killing rather than general violence
bloodthirsty
vshomicidal
  • NSFW
34 6.8

Wanting people to be harmed or killed

is about tendency to kill another person rather than general cruelty
trigger-happy
vshomicidal
  • Offensive
21 8.2

Quick to use force without thinking

describes a dispositional likelihood to kill rather than impulsive weapon use
bloody-minded
vshomicidal
  • Offensive
1 9.2

Ready to use violence to hurt people

is about being likely to kill another human rather than general cruelty
sanguinary
vshomicidal
  • NSFW
1 9.9

Involving a lot of killing and blood

focuses on likely murder tendency rather than mere bloodshed eagerness

Antonyms

324 1.0

Calm and quiet, without noise or trouble

44 4.0

Not using violence or physical force

How Dangerous

murderous
  • NSFW
76 6.4
homicidal
  • NSFW
56 7.8
violent
  • Offensive
∞ 2.5
aggressive
329 3.7
troubled
253 3.5
calm
680 1.0

Surface Forms

homicidal positive

Morphology

homicidal = homicide (semi-transparent) = homicide + al

The adjective is formed regularly from the noun 'homicide', but the meaning is somewhat specialized and not fully predictable for learners who do not already know the noun.

Etymology

The word homicidal comes from homo meaning 'person' and the ending -cide meaning 'killing', the same -cide you see in suicide and pesticide. So homicidal describes someone who is likely to kill another person.