lynch
lynch — verb
1. to capture and kill someone, especially by hanging, because a group judges that
to capture and kill someone, especially by hanging, because a group judges that person guilty and acts as though they were the court, with no judge or jury involved.
A mob lynched the young man after falsely accusing him of stealing a horse.
active voice: 'mob lynched [person]' for perpetrator-focused action
In 1919, a mob dragged Sivan from his home and lynched him outside the town.
active voice: 'mob dragged [person] from [place] and lynched [person]' for narrative concreteness
After the trial collapsed, angry villagers threatened to lynch the suspect themselves.
Andrés learned that his great-grandfather was lynched simply for refusing to leave his land.
When a black church burned down in 1921, reporter Élise warned that anyone investigating the fire risked being lynched.
- execute
state-sanctioned and follows a legal process; 'lynch' is always illegal and carried out by a mob
- murder
broader term for any unlawful killing; 'lynch' is a specific type of murder by a group acting as self-appointed judges
- string up
informal and less precise; can mean hang someone, not always with the historical or racial weight of 'lynch'
文法句型
lynch + noun phrase
be lynched (passive)
用法筆記
Carries strong historical weight, especially connected to racial violence against African Americans in the post-Civil War United States, though lynching has occurred worldwide. Avoid using the word casually or metaphorically for non-lethal violence; reserve it for extrajudicial killing by a group. The noun form 'lynching' is also common in historical and human-rights discourse.