USAGE NOTE 用法说明: kill
Compare 比较 kill, murder, slaughter, butcher, assassinate, and 和 massacre.
Kill is a general word meaning 'to make someone die'. Murder means 'to kill someone on purpose'. kill 是个普通的词，意为“让某人死”。murder 的意思是“蓄意杀死某人”:
He murdered his wife by putting poison in her food. 他在食物中放毒，谋杀了他的妻子。
Slaughter means 'to kill animals for food', but it can also describe the cruel, or unnecessary killing of people. slaughter 的意思是“屠宰动物以供食用”，但也可用于描述残暴的、毫无必要的杀人行径:
Thousands of people were needlessly slaughtered in a senseless war. 成千上万的人在一场毫无意义的战争中被无谓地屠杀了。
Butcher is even stronger. butcher 的语义更为强烈:
He was responsible for the butchering of innocent women and children. 他对残杀无辜的妇女和儿童负有责任。
Assassinate means 'to kill a famous person, especially a political leader'. assassinate 的意思是“刺杀名人，尤其是政治领袖”:
an attempt to assassinate the President 刺杀总统的企图。
Massacre means 'to kill large numbers of people, especially people who cannot defend themselves'. massacre 意为“屠杀大批人，尤指杀害没有自卫能力的人”:
Whole populations were massacred by invading Europeans. 全体人口都被入侵的欧洲人屠杀了。