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.

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bad blood British  

noun

1. a feeling of intense hatred or hostility; enmity

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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.

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Etymology

Origin of bad blood

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

According to Page Six, Jenner said there is no bad blood between her and the “Only Murders in the Building” star.

From Los Angeles Times

There’s some bad blood here: “Bury her with bad hair,” Pat responds, despite the promise of a $25,000 honorarium.

From New York Times

When a reporter wondered if there wasn’t a “pantomime element” to the entire affair, Koepka replied that there was a very real story behind the bad blood.

From New York Times

There’s bad blood between an Alameda County sheriff’s sergeant and protesters after he used a Taylor Swift song in an apparent effort to avoid an on-camera confrontation earlier this week.

From Los Angeles Times

But the bad blood between the league and its main partner started to escalate.

From New York Times

Related Words

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