carnage

[ kahr-nij ]

noun

1. the slaughter of a great number of people, as in battle; butchery; massacre.
2. fighting or other violence:

   brutal carnage on the football field.

3. great damage, utter defeat, or chaos:

   We are charting a way forward after the Election Day carnage.

4. Archaic. dead bodies, as of those slain in battle.

carnage

/ ˈkɑːnɪdʒ /

noun

1. extensive slaughter, esp of human beings in battle

Word History and Origins

Origin of carnage¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Middle French, from Italian carnaggio, from Medieval Latin carnāticum “payment or offering in meat,” equivalent to Latin carn- (stem of carō ) “flesh” + -āticum noun sufffix; -age

Word History and Origins

Origin of carnage¹

C16: from French, from Italian carnaggio, from Medieval Latin carnāticum, from Latin carō flesh

Example Sentences

Excessive speeding was cited as a leading contributor to the carnage.

From Washington Post

So that’s a little something to keep in mind as we survey the carnage.

From Time

CNBC has a longer list if you want to feast your eyes on the carnage.

From TechCrunch

No, he found it in one of Saddam Hussein’s Baghdad palaces in 2004, where the rubble and carnage of the early years of America’s war on terror took a toll on Trotter’s mind.

From Washington Post

I just came back and saw the carnage and went down and saw the same.

From Washington Blade

Female members have been involved in the carnage for the past two years, but never in such an active role.

From The Daily Beast

They logged every incident and released depressing day-by-day accounts of the carnage.

From The Daily Beast

Here's what we know so far about the man allegedly behind the carnage.

From The Daily Beast

When it comes to videos of the carnage that has cost at least 200,000 lives in Syria, few sources have been completely reliable.

From The Daily Beast

This astonishingly simple yet devastatingly graphic representation of mass carnage attracts many thousands of visitors every day.

From The Daily Beast

Only in the carnage of the head, the tilt of the chin, was the insolence expressed that had made her many enemies.

From Project Gutenberg

On either side the carnage had been terrible, and the pathways of the village were literally choked with the dead.

From Project Gutenberg

The sight of the awful carnage affected even the warworn Marshal, and made him exclaim, "What a massacre!"

From Project Gutenberg

The carnage was awful, and the charging columns halted, staggered, and then began to reel back.

From Project Gutenberg

But even in that moment he asked himself for the first time since the commencement of that carnage—to what purpose?

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bloodshed
• butchery
• crime
• havoc
• killing
• mass murder
• slaughter
• slaying
• warfare