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Murder vs Attack - What's the difference?

murder | attack |

As nouns the difference between murder and attack

is that murder is (label) an act of deliberate killing of another being, especially a human while attack is an attempt to cause damage or injury to, or to somehow detract from the worth or credibility of, a person, position, idea, object, or thing, by physical, verbal, emotional, or other assault.

As verbs the difference between murder and attack

is that murder is to deliberately kill (a person or persons) while attack is to apply violent force to someone or something.

murder

English

(wikipedia murder)

Noun

  • (label) An act of deliberate killing of another being, especially a human.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1927, author= F. E. Penny
  • , chapter=4, title= Pulling the Strings , passage=The case was that of a murder . It had an element of mystery about it, however, which was puzzling the authorities. A turban and loincloth soaked in blood had been found; also a staff.}}
  • * 1984 , Humphrey Carpenter, Mari Prichard, The Oxford companion to children's literature , page 275:
  • It may be guessed, indeed, that this was the original form of the story, the fairy being the addition of those who considered Jack's thefts from (and murder of) the giant to be scarcely justified without her.
  • * 2003 , Paul Ruditis, Star Trek Voyager: Companion (ISBN 0743417518), page 131:
  • Captain Sulu, who served under the legendary James T. Kirk for many years, disobeys Starfleet orders in order to try and help Kirk and another old shipmate, Dr. McCoy, who have been imprisoned for the murder of the Klingon chancellor.
  • * 2011 , Carlene Brennen, Hemingway's Cats (ISBN 1561644897), page 161:
  • Dr. Herrera also knew Hemingway had held Batista's army personally responsible for the brutal murders of his dogs, Blackie (Black Dog) and Machakos.
  • (label) The crime of deliberate killing of another human.
  • * {{quote-news, date=21 August 2012, author=Ed Pilkington, newspaper=The Guardian
  • , title= Death penalty on trial: should Reggie Clemons live or die? , passage=Reggie Clemons has one last chance to save his life. After 19 years on death row in Missouri for the murder of two young women, he has been granted a final opportunity to persuade a judge that he should be spared execution by lethal injection.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Old soldiers? , passage=Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine.
  • The commission of an act which abets the commission of a crime the commission of which causes the death of a human.
  • Something terrible to endure.
  • (label) A group of crows;
  • *
  • * {{quote-book, 2001, (Daniel Handler), The Vile Village, isbn=0064408655, page=76
  • , passage=Without the murder of crows roosting in its branches, Nevermore Tree looked as bare as a skeleton.}}

    Usage notes

    * Adjectives often applied to "murder": atrocious, attempted, brutal, cold-blooded, double, heinous, horrible, premeditated, triple, terrible, unsolved.

    Synonyms

    * (act of deliberate killing) homicide, manslaughter, assassination * (group of crows) flock

    Derived terms

    * attempted murder * cry blue murder * first-degree murder * get away with murder * mass murder * murderer * murderess * murder in the first degree * murder in the second degree * murderize * murder one * murderous * murdersome * murder weapon * murder will out * second-degree murder * wink murder

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To deliberately kill (a person or persons).
  • The woman found dead in her kitchen was murdered by her husband.
  • (transitive, sports, figuratively, colloquial) To defeat decisively.
  • Our team is going to murder them.
  • To botch or mangle
  • * {{quote-book, 1892, William Shepard Walsh, Handy-book of Literary Curiosities citation
  • , passage=Dr. Caius, the Frenchman in the play, and Evans the Welshman, "Gallia et Guallia," succeed pretty well in their efforts to murder the language.}}
  • (figuratively, colloquial) To kick someone's ass]] or [[chew out, chew someone out (used to express one’s anger at somebody).
  • He's torn my best shirt. When I see him, I'll murder him!
  • (figuratively, colloquial, British) to devour, ravish.
  • I could murder a hamburger right now.

    Synonyms

    * (deliberately kill) assassinate, kill, massacre, slaughter * (defeat decisively) thrash, trounce, wipe the floor with * kill

    Anagrams

    * (l) English collective nouns

    attack

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An attempt to cause damage or injury to, or to somehow detract from the worth or credibility of, a person, position, idea, object, or thing, by physical, verbal, emotional, or other assault.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1913, author=
  • , title=Lord Stranleigh Abroad , chapter=4 citation , passage=“I came down like a wolf on the fold, didn’t I??? Why didn’t I telephone??? Strategy, my dear boy, strategy. This is a surprise attack , and I’d no wish that the garrison, forewarned, should escape. …”}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author= Mark Tran
  • , volume=189, issue=6, page=1, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Denied an education by war , passage=One particularly damaging, but often ignored, effect of conflict on education is the proliferation of attacks' on schools
  • A time in which one attacks. The offence of a battle.
  • (cricket) Collectively, the bowlers of a cricket side.
  • (volleyball) Any contact with the ball other than a serve or block which sends the ball across the plane of the net.
  • (lacrosse) The three attackmen on the field or all the attackmen of a team.
  • The sudden onset of a disease.
  • An active episode of a chronic or recurrent disease.
  • (music) The onset of a musical note, particularly with respect to the strength (and duration) of that onset.
  • (audio) The amount of time it takes for the volume of an audio signal to go from zero to maximum level (e.g. an audio waveform representing a snare drum hit would feature a very fast attack, whereas that of a wave washing to shore would feature a slow attack).
  • Synonyms

    * (volleyball) hit, spike * See also

    Antonyms

    * (music) decay, release

    Derived terms

    * attack is the best form of defence * pincer attack

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To apply violent force to someone or something.
  • This species of snake will only attack humans if it feels threatened.
  • To aggressively challenge a person, idea, etc., with words (particularly in newspaper headlines, because it typesets into less space than "criticize" or similar ).
  • She published an article attacking the recent pay cuts.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012
  • , date=June 3 , author=Nathan Rabin , title=TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Mr. Plow” (season 4, episode 9; originally aired 11/19/1992) citation , page= , passage=In its God-like prime, The Simpsons attacked well-worn satirical fodder from unexpected angles, finding fresh laughs in the hoariest of subjects.}}
  • To begin to affect; to act upon injuriously or destructively; to begin to decompose or waste.
  • * Macaulay
  • On the fourth of March he was attacked by fever.
  • * B. Stewart
  • Hydrofluoric acid attacks the glass.
  • To deal with something in a direct way; to set to work upon.
  • We´ll have dinner before we attack the biology homework.
    I attacked the meal with a hearty appetite.
  • (cricket) To aim balls at the batsman’s wicket.
  • (cricket) To set a field, or bowl in a manner designed to get wickets.
  • (cricket) To bat aggressively, so as to score runs quickly.
  • (soccer) To move forward in an attempt to actively score point, as opposed to trying not to concede.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011
  • , date=October 15 , author=Michael Da Silva , title=Wigan 1 - 3 Bolton , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Six successive defeats had left them rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table but, clearly under instructions to attack from the outset, Bolton started far the brighter.}}

    Synonyms

    * See also