Violence in Language - LaConte Consulting

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

Take the Next Step

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