---
title: murder — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «murder» in the school dictionary: The crime of killing a person on purpose. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# murder

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** crime, Verb, traffic, She, I, detective · **What happens:** kill, do, want, be, murder, solve · **To what, where:** person, purpose, something, murder, song, cup · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«murder» in the school dictionary: its 5 meanings for a pupil and its 8 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [murder in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/murder.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The crime of killing a person on purpose.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:murder:m1:1
# text = The crime of killing a person on purpose.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	crime	crime	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	SCONJ	IN	_	4	mark	_	_
4	killing	kill	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	acl	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	purpose	purpose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **kill** | gerund | the crime *not said here* | a person |  | purpose |  |  | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent person=Theme |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Verb: to kill a person on purpose, against the law.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:murder:m2:1
# text = Verb: to kill a person on purpose, against the law.
1	Verb	verb	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	4	punct	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	kill	kill	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	purpose	purpose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	against	against	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	law	law	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **kill** | to-infinitive | Verb | a person |  | purpose |  |  | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent person=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: informal — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Something very hard or unpleasant.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:murder:m3:1
# text = Something very hard or unpleasant.
1	Something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	0	root	_	_
2	very	very	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	amod	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	unpleasant	unpleasant	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

<!-- .note -->
The example in this meaning, parsed on its own:

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The traffic was murder today.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:murder:m3e:1
# text = The traffic was murder today.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	traffic	traffic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	murder	murder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	today	today	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | the traffic | murder |  |  | today |  | tree rules |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: informal — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To do something very badly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:murder:m4:1
# text = To do something very badly.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	do	do	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	very	very	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	badly	badly	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  | badly *property* | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Eventuality |

<!-- .note -->
The example in this meaning, parsed on its own:

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She murdered that song.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:murder:m4e:1
# text = She murdered that song.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	murdered	murder	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	4	det	_	_
4	song	song	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **murder** | past | She | that song |  |  |  |  | vn murder-42.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent song=Patient |

## Meaning 5 {#m5}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: informal, «could murder» — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To want something very much.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:murder:m5:1
# text = To want something very much.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	want	want	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	very	very	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	much	much	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **want** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot something=Theme |

<!-- .note -->
The example in this meaning, parsed on its own:

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I could murder a cup of tea.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:murder:m5e:1
# text = I could murder a cup of tea.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	murder	murder	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	cup	cup	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	tea	tea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **murder** | could | I | a cup of tea |  |  |  |  | vn murder-42.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cup=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The detective solved the murder in the last chapter.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:murder:x1:1
# text = The detective solved the murder in the last chapter.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	detective	detective	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	solved	solve	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	murder	murder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	last	last	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	chapter	chapter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **solve** | past | the detective | the murder |  | the last chapter |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent murder=Topic |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Murder is one of the worst crimes.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:murder:x2:1
# text = Murder is one of the worst crimes.
1	Murder	murder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	worst	bad	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	7	amod	_	_
7	crimes	crime	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Murder | one |  |  |  | of the worst crimes | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Climbing that hill on a bike is murder!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:murder:x3:1
# text = Climbing that hill on a bike is murder!
1	Climbing	climbing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
2	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	3	det	_	_
3	hill	hill	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	bike	bike	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	murder	murder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Climbing on a bike | murder |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I could murder a sandwich right now.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:murder:x4:1
# text = I could murder a sandwich right now.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	murder	murder	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	sandwich	sandwich	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	right	right	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	now	now	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **murder** | could | I | a sandwich |  |  | now |  | vn murder-42.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sandwich=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He murdered the high notes in the song.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:murder:x5:1
# text = He murdered the high notes in the song.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	murdered	murder	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	high	high	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	notes	note	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	song	song	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **murder** | past | He | the high notes |  | the song |  |  | vn murder-42.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent note=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My little sister gets away with murder.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:murder:x6:1
# text = My little sister gets away with murder.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	sister	sister	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	gets	get	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	away	away	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	murder	murder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get away** | present | My little sister |  |  |  |  | with murder; away *property* | vn withdraw-82-2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A group of crows is called a murder.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:murder:x7:1
# text = A group of crows is called a murder.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	group	group	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	crows	crow	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux:pass	_	_
6	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	murder	murder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | present · passive |  | a group of crows |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: subject=Recipient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He was accused of nothing less than murder.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:murder:x8:1
# text = He was accused of nothing less than murder.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	accused	accuse	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	3	obl	_	_
6	less	less	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	5	amod	_	_
7	than	than	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	murder	murder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **accuse** | past · passive |  | He |  |  |  | of nothing | vn suspect-81 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: subject=Theme of nothing=Attribute |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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