RITUAL KILLING

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

Meaning:

The act of killing (an animal or person) in order to propitiate a deity

Synonyms:

ritual killing; sacrifice

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("ritual killing" is a kind of...):

kill; killing; putting to death (the act of terminating a life)

Domain category:

animal; animate being; beast; brute; creature; fauna (a living organism characterized by voluntary movement)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ritual killing"):

hecatomb (a great sacrifice; an ancient Greek or Roman sacrifice of 100 oxen)

immolation (killing or offering as a sacrifice)