uccidete

Uccidete is the Italian verb uccidere in the second-person plural form. It appears as the present indicative meaning “you kill,” and as the imperative form meaning “kill!” when addressing a group. The spelling is identical for both uses, with context and intonation signaling whether it is a descriptive statement or a command.

Uccidere, from Latin occīdēre, is a transitive verb meaning to cause the death of a person or animal. In Italian it requires a direct object, as in “Hanno ucciso il nemico” (they killed the enemy). The verb forms are regular for its conjugation class, with a past participle “ucciso” used with the auxiliary avere to form perfect tenses.

Present indicative forms (io/tu/lui noi voi loro) are: io uccido, tu uccidi, lui/lei uccide, noi uccidiamo, voi uccidete, loro uccidono. The imperative for voi is “uccidete,” while the tu form is “uccidi.” The formal Lei imperative is “uccida,” and the noi form is “uccidiamo,” with the Loro form “uccidano.” The present subjunctive is formed as: che io uccida, che tu uccida, che lui uccida, che noi uccidiamo, che voi uccidiate, che loro uccidano.

Usage notes emphasize that uccidete carries strong violent connotations and is typically confined to contexts such as fiction, historical accounts, journalism about homicide, or quoted speech. It is not part of ordinary polite conversation except in literary or dramatically charged contexts.

See also: uccisione (the act of killing), ucciso (past participle).