slain

verb

past participle of slay

1
transitive : to kill violently, wantonly, or in great numbers
slay the enemy
This was the appearance of a dreadful epidemic which in that age, and long before and afterward, was wont to slay its hundreds and thousands on both sides of the Atlantic.Nathaniel Hawthorne
broadly : to strike down : kill
slay a dragon
"It's a lot easier to slay a vampire with a stake in the heart than it is to slay some of our demons that are in our heads." Rachel T. Hill
2
transitive informal : to delight or amuse immensely
slayed the audience
… [Seth Rogen] is currently slaying critics with Superbad, which he co-wrote with Evan Goldberg.Tanner Stransky
3
transitive + intransitive informal : to do something or perform exceptionally well or impressively : to be exceptionally impressive
From the Let Girls Learn initiative to her Vogue covers, [Yara Shahidi] slays it all.Rebecca Sun
Beyoncé did not come to this year's Grammy Awards just to slay, she came to make a statement.Jackie Fields
From the red carpet to her sure-to-be epic performance, one thing is for certain—she's gonna slay.Quinn Keaney
Choose the Right Synonym for slain

kill, slay, murder, assassinate, dispatch, execute mean to deprive of life.

kill merely states the fact of death caused by an agency in any manner.

killed in an accident
frost killed the plants

slay is a chiefly literary term implying deliberateness and violence but not necessarily motive.

slew thousands of the Philistines

murder specifically implies stealth and motive and premeditation and therefore full moral responsibility.

convicted of murdering a rival

assassinate applies to deliberate killing openly or secretly often for political motives.

terrorists assassinated the Senator

dispatch stresses quickness and directness in putting to death.

dispatched the sentry with one bullet

execute stresses putting to death as a legal penalty.

executed by lethal gas

Examples of slain in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Hundreds paid their final respects Wednesday to slain Birmingham Firefighter Jordan Melton, who was gunned down while on duty two weeks ago at Station 9. Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, 26 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slain.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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Cite this Entry

“Slain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slain. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

slain

past participle of slay

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