eliticide

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noun

The targeted killing of the leadership of a group (to cripple it), for example at the beginning of a genocide or during a revolution.

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Meanings

nouneliticide (plural eliticides)

plural eliticides · alternative elitocide

  1. The targeted killing of the leadership of a group (to cripple it), for example at the beginning of a genocide or during a revolution.

Origin

From elite + -icide. First used in 1992 by British reporter Michael Nicholson to describe the Bijeljina massacre in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

eliticide. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eliticide

MLA

“eliticide.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eliticide. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eliticide,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eliticide.

Source: eliticide on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.