lynch — to kill someone illegally by hanging, especially as punishment by a mob without a legal trial
Part of speech: VERB
Definition: to kill someone illegally by hanging, especially as punishment by a mob without a legal trial
Pronunciation (IPA): /lɪntʃ/
Example Sentences
- The movie depicted how innocent people were often lynched in the Wild West.
- Social media users sometimes try to digitally lynch celebrities over minor mistakes.
- The coach felt like the fans wanted to lynch him after the team's terrible performance.
lynch
VERB[/lɪntʃ/]
to kill someone illegally by hanging, especially as punishment by a mob without a legal trial
An angry frontier mob tries to lynch a man before the sheriff stops them.
They crept inch by inch, but justice made it a cinch to stop the lynch!
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
The word derives from Charles Lynch, an 18th-century Virginia magistrate who became notorious for punishing Loyalist sympathizers during the American Revolutionary War without formal legal proceedings. His name became eponymous for vigilante justice and extrajudicial punishment.
Breakdown
Charles Lynch (proper name of Virginia magistrate) → lynch law (mob justice without trial) → lynch (verb, to execute by mob without legal process). The verb form emerged in the early 19th century from the practice named after Lynch's unauthorized punishments.
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“The movie depicted how innocent people were often lynched in the Wild West.”
“Social media users sometimes try to digitally lynch celebrities over minor mistakes.”
“The coach felt like the fans wanted to lynch him after the team's terrible performance.”
📚Related Words
Synonyms
Antonyms
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