murderous

Murderous is an adjective that denotes the capacity for murder or an intent to kill, and can describe people, acts, or objects that are deadly or extremely dangerous. It may also be used figuratively to convey extreme harshness, intensity, or destructiveness.

In everyday usage, phrases such as murderous rage, murderous heat, or a murderous pace illustrate hyperbolic emphasis on danger or severity. In legal and forensic contexts, murderous can modify terms to indicate the severity of a crime or the presence of intent, such as “murderous assault” or “murderous intent,” though such language is typically limited to specific legal or analytical discussions.

Etymology: murderous derives from murder, via Middle English and Old French murdre, with the suffix -ous meaning “full of” or “having the quality of.” The form appears in English by the early modern period and remains common in both formal and informal registers.

See also: murder, homicide, violent crime, murderous intent, deadly, lethal.

Notes: The word should be used carefully when describing real individuals or events to avoid sensationalism, and it is often more precise to specify the nature of the threat or the crime.