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blood purge

American  

noun

  1. the mass execution, especially by a government, of persons considered guilty of treason or sedition.


Etymology

Origin of blood purge

First recorded in 1930–35

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.

According to the book's editor, Yale History Professor Henry Ashby Turner Jr., Wagener was lucky to escape Göring's blood purge of June 30, 1934.

From Time Magazine Archive

Bruning resigned in 1932, then fled Germany during the 1934 "blood purge" and later taught at Harvard.

From Time Magazine Archive

Mr. Levine suggests that these two are now deliberately picking off Old Bolsheviks in a judicial "blood purge" based on the needs of Russian Youth.

From Time Magazine Archive

During the 1934 blood purge, he was arrested but soon released.

From Time Magazine Archive

Purge out the foul corruptions that rot and fester in the blood; purge out the causes of disease, and vigorous health will follow.

From The Continental Monthly, Vol. 4, No. 6, December 1863 Devoted to Literature and National Policy by Various