Key “-Cide” Words for Competitive Exams
The suffix “-cide” is widely used in English words related to killing, destruction, or anything that causes destruction. Knowing this suffix will help make learning vocabulary easier for students preparing for SSC, Banking, Railways, Defence, UPSC, etc.
For instance, fratricide refers to the killing of a brother, whereas matricide refers to the killing of a mother. Various scientific terms like insecticide, fungicide, herbicide, bactericide denote the chemicals used to destroy certain organisms.
Here is a list of significant “-cide” words along with their short meanings in English and Hindi. The meanings are kept brief and useful for preparing for exams.
Important “-Cide” Words
| S.N. | Word | Meaning / Phrase | Hindi Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Acaricide | A substance that kills mites and ticks | माइट्स और किलनी को मारने वाला पदार्थ |
| 2 | Algicide | A substance that kills algae | शैवालनाशी पदार्थ |
| 3 | Avicide | A substance used to kill birds | पक्षीनाशी पदार्थ |
| 4 | Bactericide | A substance that kills bacteria | जीवाणुनाशी पदार्थ |
| 5 | Biocide | A substance that kills or controls harmful organisms | हानिकारक जीवों को नष्ट या नियंत्रित करने वाला पदार्थ |
| 6 | Cestocide | A substance that kills tapeworms | फीता-कृमिनाशी पदार्थ |
| 7 | Cytocide | A substance that destroys cells | कोशिकानाशी पदार्थ |
| 8 | Deicide | The killing of a god or deity | देवता की हत्या |
| 9 | Ecocide | Destruction of the natural environment | प्राकृतिक पर्यावरण का विनाश |
| 10 | Ethnocide | Destruction of the culture or identity of an ethnic group | जातीय संस्कृति या पहचान का विनाश |
| 11 | Femicide | The killing of a woman or girl because of her sex | लिंग के आधार पर महिला या बालिका की हत्या |
| 12 | Feticide | The killing of a fetus | भ्रूण की हत्या |
| 13 | Filicide | The killing of one's own child | अपनी संतान की हत्या |
| 14 | Fungicide | A substance that kills fungi | कवकनाशी पदार्थ |
| 15 | Fratricide | The killing of one's brother | भाई की हत्या |
| 16 | Germicide | A substance that kills germs | रोगाणुनाशक पदार्थ |
| 17 | Genocide | The deliberate destruction of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group | किसी राष्ट्रीय, जातीय, नस्लीय या धार्मिक समूह का जानबूझकर विनाश |
| 18 | Herbicide | A substance that kills unwanted plants | खरपतवारनाशी पदार्थ |
| 19 | Homicide | The killing of one person by another | एक व्यक्ति द्वारा दूसरे व्यक्ति की हत्या |
| 20 | Insecticide | A substance that kills insects | कीटनाशक पदार्थ |
| 21 | Infanticide | The killing of an infant | शिशु की हत्या |
| 22 | Larvicide | A substance that kills insect larvae | लार्वानाशी पदार्थ |
| 23 | Linguicide | The destruction or suppression of a language | भाषा का विनाश या दमन |
| 24 | Mariticide | The killing of one's husband | पति की हत्या |
| 25 | Matricide | The killing of one's mother | माता की हत्या |
| 26 | Microbicide | A substance that kills or inactivates microorganisms | सूक्ष्मजीवों को नष्ट या निष्क्रिय करने वाला पदार्थ |
| 27 | Miticide | A substance that kills mites | माइटनाशी पदार्थ |
| 28 | Molluscicide | A substance that kills molluscs | मोलस्कनाशी पदार्थ |
| 29 | Nematicide | A substance that kills nematodes | सूत्रकृमिनाशी पदार्थ |
| 30 | Ovicide | A substance that kills eggs, especially insect eggs | अंडों को नष्ट करने वाला पदार्थ |
| 31 | Parricide | The killing of one's parent | माता या पिता की हत्या |
| 32 | Parasiticide | A substance that kills parasites | परजीवीनाशी पदार्थ |
| 33 | Patricide | The killing of one's father | पिता की हत्या |
| 34 | Pediculicide | A substance that kills lice | जूँनाशी पदार्थ |
| 35 | Pesticide | A chemical substance used to kill unwanted organisms | अवांछित जीवों को नष्ट करने वाला रासायनिक पदार्थ |
| 36 | Piscicide | A substance used to kill fish | मत्स्यनाशी पदार्थ |
| 37 | Regicide | The killing of a king or queen | राजा या रानी की हत्या |
| 38 | Rodenticide | A substance that kills rodents | कृंतकनाशी पदार्थ |
| 39 | Scabicide | A substance used to kill the mites that cause scabies | स्केबीज़ उत्पन्न करने वाले माइट्स को नष्ट करने वाला पदार्थ |
| 40 | Sororicide | The killing of one's sister | बहन की हत्या |
| 41 | Sporicide | A substance that kills spores | बीजाणुनाशी पदार्थ |
| 42 | Termiticide | A substance that kills termites | दीमकनाशी पदार्थ |
| 43 | Tyrannicide | The killing of a tyrant | अत्याचारी शासक की हत्या |
| 44 | Uxoricide | The killing of one's wife | पत्नी की हत्या |
| 45 | Virucide | A substance that destroys viruses | विषाणुनाशी पदार्थ |
| 46 | Amoebicide | A substance that kills amoebae | अमीबानाशी पदार्थ |
| 47 | Leishmanicide | A substance that kills Leishmania parasites | लीशमैनिया परजीवीनाशी पदार्थ |
Related “-Cidal” Words
The following are adjective forms related to some of the words above. They are kept separately to avoid unnecessarily repeating the main vocabulary list.
| S.N. | Word | Meaning | Hindi Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bactericidal | Capable of killing bacteria | बैक्टीरिया को मारने वाला |
| 2 | Ecocidal | Causing severe destruction to the environment | पर्यावरण को गंभीर रूप से नष्ट करने वाला |
| 3 | Filicidal | Relating to the killing of one's child | संतान की हत्या से संबंधित |
| 4 | Fratricidal | Relating to the killing of one's brother or members of one's own group | भाई या अपने ही समूह के सदस्यों की हत्या से संबंधित |
| 5 | Fungicidal | Capable of killing fungi | कवक को मारने वाला |
| 6 | Genocidal | Relating to or involving genocide | नरसंहार से संबंधित |
| 7 | Germicidal | Capable of killing germs | रोगाणुओं को नष्ट करने वाला |
| 8 | Homicidal | Relating to homicide or murder | मानव-हत्या से संबंधित |
| 9 | Insecticidal | Capable of killing insects | कीटों को मारने वाला |
| 10 | Matricidal | Relating to the killing of one's mother | माता की हत्या से संबंधित |
| 11 | Ovicidal | Relating to the destruction of eggs | अंडों को नष्ट करने वाला |
| 12 | Patricidal | Relating to the killing of one's father | पिता की हत्या से संबंधित |
| 13 | Virucidal | Capable of destroying viruses | विषाणुओं को नष्ट करने वाला |
Read Also
Important Phobias for Competitive Exams | 100+ Phobia Names and Meanings