Violence in Language

Language is amazing, isn’t it? We use it to communicate ideas—using words, sounds, symbols, and gestures.

But the best thing about using language is that we can add a punch of creativity. Figurative phrases allow us to add spice and flavor to an otherwise dull conversation.

Where It All Started

In 2017, my children and I were watching a rainstorm (which is rather frequent here in the Pacific Northwest). I exclaimed, “It’s raining cats and dogs!”

To which they responded, “I feel bad for the cats and dogs! What happened to them?”

That was the moment I got curious about violence in language. What other terms of aggression, fighting, and war do we use in everyday speech? How many times do we refer to something benign but use a much stronger phrase?

Over the next 4 years, as a hobby, we collected violent terms: Any phrase that was aggressive or death-related went into a document. Every week, we collected new terms to add to the list. We’ve reached 5,439 phrases… and the list keeps growing.

Impact on the Business World

As I reviewed all the ways we use violence in English, I started to notice the degree and frequency of these terms in business settings. Our words may accidentally indicate ideas that we do not intend to express. This is especially dangerous for ESL (English as a Second Language) speakers, who may translate phrases literally.

Which of these terms have you heard or used in the workplace? How many do you say with your family members?

Maybe it’s a long shot (see what I did there?), but I believe that what we say can indicate what we believe: our core values and philosophies. This awareness will help us to understand others and why they respond the way they do. When we adapt what we say to fit the situation, this can allow us to achieve better outcomes.

Consider which of these phrases are common in your job environment or organization. Notice whether they match your core philosophy and goals for your business.

The Violent Phrases

The extensive collection of violent and aggressive terms we started to collect 5 years ago has grown to 236 pages, so it’s a bit too long to share in its entirety here. Below, you will find a summary of the categories that we have collected.

If something is missing or incorrect, don’t kill me; just send a message or leave a comment below.

 

Click to jump to a section, or scroll down to check out the entire list. 

Guns, Explosions, and War
Punching, Hitting, and Fighting
Blood, Gore, Murder, and Death
Animals, Ownership, Slavery, and Law

 

Guns, Explosions, and War

Guns and Ammunition

  • Ammunition
  • Arm / Armed
  • Barrel
  • Bullets
  • Clip
  • Cock / Cocked (Gun Terms)
  • Draw
  • Fire a Weapon
  • Flash
  • Gun
  • Gun (Other)
  • Loaded
  • Mark (Gun Related)
  • Pistol
  • Powder
  • Range
  • Other Shooting Terms
  • Shoot / Shooting
  • Shot
  • Shotgun
  • Sights / Aiming
  • Spears
  • Target
  • Trigger
  • Weapon
  • Other Gun Terms

Explosions

  • Bang
  • Blast
  • Blow / Blew (Explosions)
  • Blown
  • Bomb / Bombshell
  • Cannon
  • Explosions / Explosive
  • Hit [War-related]
  • Launch
  • Mine / Minefield
  • Missile
  • Smoke
  • Stock
  • Other Explosion Terms

War and Weapons

  • Armor
  • Arrow
  • Assault
  • Attack
  • Ax / Axe
  • Battle
  • Breach
  • Cavalry
  • Combat
  • Coup
  • Enemy
  • Guerra / Guerre
  • Line
  • March
  • Napalm
  • Siege
  • Sword / Sabre / Bayonet
  • Troops
  • War
  • Archery Terms
  • Military Tactics
  • War and Weapons Quotes
  • Other War and Weapons Terms

Punching, Hitting, and Fighting

  • Abuse
  • Ball / Balls
  • Bam / Wham
  • Bark
  • Bash
  • Bat / Batten
  • Beat / Beating / Beaten
  • Bite
  • Blow (Hitting)
  • Boot
  • Box / Boxing
  • Break
  • Break- (Other Terms)
  • Bricks
  • Broke / Broken
  • Bruise
  • Brutal
  • Buck
  • Bullfighting Terms
  • Burn / Burned [not lethal]
  • Butt / A*s / Can
  • Cast
  • Catch / Caught
  • Cave
  • Chase
  • Choke
  • Clamp
  • Clean
  • Cliff
  • Clinch
  • Corner
  • Crack
  • Crash
  • Crush
  • Cudgel
  • Damage
  • Dash
  • Desperation
  • Destroy / Destruction
  • Dig
  • Dirt / Dirty
  • Dive
  • Drag
  • Drive / Driving
  • Drop
  • Dump
  • Edge
  • Eye
  • Face
  • Fall / Fell
  • Feather
  • Fight
  • Fist
  • Flip
  • Force
  • Gang
  • Get Off
  • Go Down
  • Gouge
  • Grip
  • Ground / Grind
  • Hair
  • Hammer
  • Hands
  • Hang
  • Hanging / Hangman
  • Hard
  • Held / Hold
  • Hit / Hitting
  • Horn
  • Hostile
  • Hot
  • Hurt
  • Injury
  • Jab
  • Jam
  • Jump
  • Kick / Kicking / Kickoff
  • Knee
  • Knock / Knocking Out
  • Knuckle
  • Landslide / Avalanche
  • Lay / Laid
  • Lick
  • Lie / Lying
  • Load / Loaded (not gun related)
  • Lock/Locked
  • Misery
  • Mob
  • Muscle
  • Nail / Nailed
  • Nerves
  • Nose
  • Overboard
  • Pick
  • Piece / Pieces
  • Pierce
  • Pile
  • Pin
  • Piss
  • Poke
  • Pound
  • Press
  • Prod
  • Pull / Pulled / Pulling
  • Pump
  • Punch
  • Push
  • Put
  • Rage
  • Rail
  • Rake
  • Ram
  • Ran Into
  • Rattle / Rattled
  • Rearing / Rarin’
  • Rib / Ribbing
  • Ring / Ringside
  • Riot
  • Rod
  • Roll Over
  • Rope / Roped
  • Rough
  • Rub
  • Run
  • Scare
  • Scratch
  • Shake / Shook
  • Shatter
  • Shove
  • Shut
  • Sink / Sank
  • Sit On
  • Slam
  • Slap
  • Sling
  • Smack
  • Smash / Smashing
  • Smear
  • Smother
  • Sock / Socks
  • Spike
  • Squeeze
  • Stamp / Stomp
  • Step
  • Stone / Stoning
  • Strangle
  • Strap / Strapped
  • Strike
  • String
  • Stripped
  • Stroke
  • Struck
  • Stumble
  • Suck
  • Swallow
  • Swing / Swinging
  • Swoop
  • Tackle
  • Take
  • Take It
  • Tear / Torn
  • Temper
  • The Life
  • Thorn
  • Threw
  • Throw
  • Toe
  • Torch
  • Toss
  • Trap
  • Trauma
  • Tread
  • Tripped / Tripping
  • Tumble
  • Twist
  • Under
  • Wall
  • Weather Terms
  • Weigh / Weight
  • Whack
  • Wipe / Swipe
  • Wreck
  • Wrestle
  • Wrestling Terms
  • General Fighting Terms

Blood, Gore, Murder, and Death

Cutting, Blood, and Gore

  • Arm
  • Bend / Bent
  • Blade
  • Blaze
  • Bleed / Bleeding
  • Blind
  • Blood
  • Body
  • Boil
  • Bone / Bones
  • Brains
  • Breath / Breathing
  • Burst
  • Bust / Busting
  • Butcher
  • Car Related Terms
  • Carcass
  • Carve
  • Chew / Chomp
  • Chop
  • Crawl
  • Cross
  • Cut
  • Cut Off / Cutoff
  • Cutting
  • Dagger
  • Demon
  • Devil / Satan
  • Drill
  • Ear
  • Eat
  • Electric
  • Evil
  • Finger / Fingernail
  • Fire (Not Gun Related)
  • Flame
  • Flesh
  • Fry
  • Game (hunting-related)
  • Grab
  • Grief
  • Grill
  • Guts
  • Head
  • Head Off
  • Head On
  • Heart
  • Hell
  • Hell (Other Terms)
  • Hide (noun)
  • Horror
  • Hunt
  • Knife
  • Lame
  • Lash / Lashing
  • Left
  • Leg
  • Mince
  • Monster
  • Mouth
  • Neck
  • Needle / Shot (not gun related)
  • Noose
  • Pain
  • Pitch
  • Plague
  • Poison Terms
  • Rack / Racked
  • Razor
  • Religious Terms
  • Rip / Ripped
  • Roar
  • Scream
  • Screw
  • Seams
  • Sh*t
  • Shaft
  • Sharp
  • Shock / Shocked
  • Shred
  • Sin
  • Skeletons
  • Skin
  • Skull
  • Slash
  • Slay
  • Slice
  • Snap
  • Spank / Spanking
  • Spell
  • Spine
  • Spit
  • Stab
  • Stake
  • Stick / Sticky
  • Taste
  • Teeth
  • Terror
  • Throat
  • Through
  • Thumb
  • Toe
  • Torment
  • Torture
  • Track / Tracks
  • Trample
  • Walk
  • Wicked
  • Witches and Spirits
  • Wound / Wounded
  • Minced Oaths
  • Other Gore Terms

Murder and Death

  • *cide
  • [To] Death
  • [With] Death
  • Assassin / Assassinate
  • Bury / Buried
  • Cadaver
  • Corpse
  • Cripple
  • Dead
  • Dead (Other Terms)
  • Dead Body
  • Dead Man
  • Death
  • Die / Died
  • Drown / Drowning
  • Dying
  • Entrails
  • Epidemic / Pandemic
  • Execution
  • Fatal
  • Fate
  • Fear
  • Funeral
  • Gallows
  • Genocide
  • Ghost
  • Grave
  • Hatchet
  • Homicide
  • Kill
  • Killed
  • Killer / Other Kill Terms
  • Last Words
  • Lethal
  • Life / Live / Lives / Alive
  • Live / Lives / Alive
  • Murder
  • Sacrifice
  • Snuff
  • Split
  • Starve / Famine
  • Stiff
  • Stomach / Belly
  • Suicide
  • Tomb
  • Euphemistic Phrases for Death
  • Death Tropes
  • Torture Terms
  • Other Murder and Death Terms

Animals, Ownership, and Law Enforcement

Animal Terms

  • Ape / Chimp / Gorilla / Monkey
  • Bait
  • Bear
  • Beast
  • Bird
  • Bug
  • Bull
  • Cage
  • Canary
  • Cannibalize
  • Cat
  • Chicken
  • Claw
  • Cow
  • Dog
  • Elephant
  • Fish
  • Goose
  • Hook
  • Hornet / Bee
  • Horse
  • Hound
  • Leech
  • Lion
  • Pig / Hog
  • Poach
  • Rabid
  • Rat
  • Shark
  • Snake
  • Tail
  • Tiger
  • Wolf / Wolves
  • Worm
  • Other Animal Terms

Power, Ownership, Slavery, and Sexual Violence

  • Bind / Bound
  • Capture / Captive
  • Chain
  • Flog
  • Gag
  • Kidnapping Terms
  • Master
  • Other Slavery Terms
  • Owned
  • Savage
  • Scalping
  • Slave
  • Throttle
  • Tie / Tied
  • Titles of Power
  • Whip
  • Nonverbal Violent Signals
  • Sexual Violence Terms
  • Other Power and Possession Terms

Legal, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Terms

  • Bandit
  • Case
  • Charge
  • Cop
  • Crime
  • Cuff / Cuffed
  • Guard
  • Law / Legal
  • Mug / Mugged / Mugger
  • Prison / Prisoner
  • Rap (Crime)
  • Robbery
  • Steal / Stolen
  • Thieves
  • Other Criminal Terms

 

 


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