bloodthirsty

[bluhd-thur-stee]

adjective

1. eager to shed blood; murderous.

   to capture a bloodthirsty criminal.

   Synonyms: pitiless, merciless, bloody, brutal, savage, homicidal

2. enjoying or encouraging bloodshed or violence, especially as a spectator or clamorous partisan.

   the bloodthirsty urgings of the fight fans.

bloodthirsty

/ ˈblʌdˌθɜːstɪ /

adjective

1. murderous; cruel

2. taking pleasure in bloodshed or violence

3. describing or depicting killing and violence; gruesome

   a bloodthirsty film

Other Word Forms

• bloodthirstily adverb
• bloodthirstiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of bloodthirsty¹

First recorded in 1525–35; blood + thirsty

Example Sentences

Taylor ferrets out the secret with her bloodthirsty relentlessness and immediately raises pandemonium.

From Los Angeles Times

The city, he said, had been “overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people.”

From Los Angeles Times

“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals—roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs, and homeless people.”

From Salon

It’s doublespeak, masking an agenda to galvanize a bloodthirsty base and make state violence sound reasonable, even necessary.

From Los Angeles Times

To view “Cloud” as mere commentary on 21st-century greed is to miss the existential nightmare that Yoshii’s armed, bloodthirsty and mostly hapless pursuers represent: regular folk driven to kill after a humiliating experience.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• homicidal 
• ruthless