Meaning & use
fratricides
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“fratricides” is a form of “fratricide”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
noununcountableformallegal
The crime of killing one's own brother or sister.
Grammar: As the name of a crime it is uncountable: accused of fratricide. The plural 'fratricides' refers to separate acts or cases.
Patterns
- commit fratricide
- be accused of fratricide
The play ends with an act of fratricide that destroys the whole family.
Historians still argue about whether the king was guilty of fratricide.
Two fratricides in one royal family shocked the kingdom.
nouncountableformal
A person who kills their own brother or sister.
Grammar: Countable: a fratricide, two fratricides. This use is less common than the crime sense.
Patterns
- a convicted fratricide
- the fratricide was sentenced
The court declared him a fratricide and sent him to prison.
In the legend, the fratricide wanders the earth seeking forgiveness.
noununcountablefigurativeformal
The act of fighting against or destroying members of your own group or country.
Grammar: Uncountable and figurative; often used about civil wars or bitter internal disputes.
Patterns
- political fratricide
- avoid fratricide within the party
The party's internal fratricide cost it the election.
Leaders warned that such fratricide would weaken the whole movement.
Word forms
| singular | fratricide |
|---|
Common combinations
- commit fratricide
- According to the myth, Romulus committed fratricide when he killed Remus.
- be accused of fratricide
- The prince was accused of fratricide after his brother's sudden death.
- an act of fratricide
- The novel opens with an act of fratricide that haunts the hero.
- political fratricide
- Commentators blamed political fratricide for the party's collapse.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sororicide
- Specifically the killing of a sister, while fratricide can refer to a brother or a sister.
- parricide
- The killing of a parent or close relative, a broader and more general crime.
- homicide
- Any killing of one person by another; fratricide names the family relationship.
Word family
- fratricidal adjective
- Describing conflict or killing between brothers or within the same group.
- fratricide noun
- The singular form, meaning one such killing or one such killer.
Commonly confused: fratricides or patricide? fratricides or fratricidal?
fratricides vs patricide
Patricide is the killing of a father, while fratricide is the killing of a brother or sister.
fratricides vs fratricidal
This is the adjective; 'fratricides' is the plural noun.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'fratricides' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Fratricides' is a plural noun, so it fits as the object of 'studied'. An is illogical because fratricide is a killing, not something two living brothers do to each other; C and D wrongly use the noun as a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fratricides”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.