bloodletting

[ bluhd-let-ing ]

See synonyms for: bloodletting bloodlettings on Thesaurus.com

noun

the act or practice of letting blood by opening a vein; phlebotomy.
bloodshed or slaughter.

bloodbath.
Informal. severe cutbacks or reduction in personnel, appropriations, etc.: The company went through a period of bloodletting in the 1970s.

Origin of bloodletting

First recorded in 1175–1225, bloodletting is from Middle English blod letunge. See blood, let¹, -ing¹

Other words from bloodletting

bloodletter, noun

Words Nearby bloodletting

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bloodletting in a sentence

The bloodletting in Syria has unfolded with deliberate relentlessness.
A New Start To U.S. Policy In Syria Can Save Lives | Tom Perriello | February 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
So the question is, can Lebanon survive the "Lebanonization" of Syria without another abominable round of bloodletting?
Is Syria Being 'Lebanized' or is Lebanon Being 'Syrianized'? | Hussein Ibish | August 29, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
As bloodletting continues and criminals take advantage of the political chaos, ordinary Egyptians are arming themselves.
Egypt’s Arms Race | Sophia Jones | August 23, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
He shrugged, “I did not expect it to go on this long,” he said of the bloodletting that had cost 100,000 lives.
In Syria, Europe & Boston, the Past Is Never Finished | Kati Marton | May 11, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Meantime, Syrians still drown in bloodletting, chaos, and refugees, while the Assad side weakens only by endless inches.
How to Save Syria From al Qaeda | Leslie H. Gelb | February 24, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

I had no love for Shawnee or Mingo, but my mind held room for something besides schemes for bloodletting.
A Virginia Scout | Hugh Pendexter
A little bloodletting would do Falkner no harm—or, for the matter of that, either of them.
A Frontier Mystery | Bertram Mitford
This here business ain't going to be ended without a rare lot of bloodletting.
The Hero of Panama | F. S. Brereton
And so his calomel pill and his bloodletting lancet were carried everywhere with him by the doctor.
Criminal Psychology | Hans Gross
bloodletting is the last effect that I ever expected to hear ascribed to this measure.
Abridgement of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856 (4 of 16 vol.) | Various

British Dictionary definitions for blood-letting

blood-letting

/ (ˈblʌdˌlɛtɪŋ) /

noun

the therapeutic removal of blood, as in relieving congestive heart failure: See also phlebotomy
bloodshed, esp in a blood feud

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

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