ammazzare

to kill

verb ahm-maht-TSAH-reh Rare

Origin: From mazzare (to club), from mazza (club, mace), of Germanic origin.

Also means

to slaughter

Usage Note

Ammazzare is a common, blunt verb for killing — more visceral than uccidere (to kill, more neutral/formal) and used freely in everyday Italian. It takes avere with a direct object; the reflexive ammazzarsi means to kill oneself or, colloquially, to work oneself to death (mi sto ammazzando di lavoro). In exclamations, ammazza! or ammazzate! are Roman-dialect interjections of surprise, roughly 'wow!'.

Examples

"Il cacciatore ha ammazzato un cinghiale."

Natural Translation

The hunter killed a wild boar.

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