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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.

Incoming Hungarian leader Peter Magyar on Wednesday pays his first visit to EU chiefs in Brussels since his election win, looking to turn the page on the bad blood of nationalist Viktor Orban's tenure.

From Barron's • Apr. 29, 2026

The Dodgers did not leave town without a hint of bad blood between them and their traditional rivals.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026

The companies had bad blood to begin with.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026

In response, Prescod said he had no "bad blood" with the organisation and argued it had "not necessarily got all the information".

From BBC • Jan. 13, 2026

It was the lawyer, Zell Posey, and by his tone Bull knew that bad blood moved between him and Bertha.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

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.