bad blood

American  

noun

1. unfriendly or hostile relations; enmity; hostility; animosity.

   When the territory was being settled there was bad blood between the farmers and the ranchers.

---

bad blood British  

noun

1. a feeling of intense hatred or hostility; enmity

---

bad blood Idioms  

1. Anger or hostility between persons or groups, as in There's been bad blood between the two families for years. This term is based on the old association with blood and emotion, particularly anger. Versions such as ill blood preceded it; Charles Lamb was among the first to use the idiom in its current form in an 1823 essay.

---

Etymology

Origin of bad blood

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bad blood

There is a lot of bad blood between the Sussexes and the tabloid press.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

However, the trial was told of bad blood between the two men.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

Despite admitting that he’d like to be asked back to the band, bad blood lingered.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Whitaker said he believed the bad blood was behind the alliance, claiming that "those days are past us".

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

Laz becomes almost impossibly disdainful when speaking about Lucera—there was apparently bad blood between them before she disappeared.

From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older

Related Words

• acrimony
• animosity
• animus
• antagonism
• bitterness
• distrust
• enmity
• hatred
• hostility
• ill will
• nastiness
• rancor
• resentment