MERCY KILLING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does mercy killing mean? 

• MERCY KILLING (noun)
  The noun MERCY KILLING has 1 sense:

1. the act of killing someone painlessly (especially someone suffering from an incurable illness)

  Familiarity information: MERCY KILLING used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MERCY KILLING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of killing someone painlessly (especially someone suffering from an incurable illness)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

euthanasia; mercy killing

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

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

 Context examples 

Also called mercy killing.

(Euthanasia, NCI Dictionary)