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Synonyms

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When discussing the two years he spent in Metallica and the bad blood that followed, Mustaine is contemplative and serene.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026

Alexander Isak's absence due to a leg break removed some of the simmering bad blood between the clubs over the Swede's British transfer record move to Anfield in September.

From Barron's • Jan. 31, 2026

And the legacy of the whole episode is a lot of bad blood within the party.

From Slate • Jan. 12, 2026

"There's a lot of bad blood," he said.

From BBC • Oct. 18, 2025

“If there is bad blood between you and them,” said I, to soften it off a little.

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.