bloody
Americanadjective
-
bloodier,
comparative
-
bloodiest
superlative
-
stained or covered with blood.
a bloody handkerchief.
- Synonyms:
- gory, sanguinary
-
bleeding.
a bloody nose.
- Synonyms:
- gory, sanguinary
-
characterized by bloodshed.
bloody battle; a bloody rule.
- Synonyms:
- gory, sanguinary
-
inclined to bloodshed; bloodthirsty.
a bloody dictator.
-
of, relating to, or resembling blood; containing or composed of blood.
bloody tissue.
-
Slang. (used as an intensifier).
a bloody shame; a bloody nuisance.
verb (used with object)
-
bloodies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bloodied,
past participle, past
-
bloodying
present participle
-
to stain or smear with blood.
-
to cause to bleed, as by a blow or accident.
to bloody someone's nose.
adverb
adjective
-
covered or stained with blood
-
resembling or composed of blood
-
marked by much killing and bloodshed
a bloody war
-
cruel or murderous
a bloody tyrant
-
of a deep red colour; blood-red
adverb
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
bloodysimple
-
bloodiessimple
-
have bloodiedperfect
-
has bloodiedperfect
-
am bloodyingprogressive
-
are bloodyingprogressive
-
is bloodyingprogressive
-
have been bloodyingperfect progressive
-
has been bloodyingperfect progressive
Past
-
bloodiedsimple
-
had bloodiedperfect
-
was bloodyingprogressive
-
were bloodyingprogressive
-
had been bloodyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bloody
before 1000; Middle English blody, Old English blōdig. See blood, -y 1
Explanation
Something that's bloody is stained or covered with blood, like a bloody nose. In British slang, bloody means something like “very.” That’s bloody brilliant! Things that are literally bloody have blood on them or are made of blood. Figuratively bloody things, on the other hand, only imply blood — a bloody coup, for example, is a government overthrow that involves some amount of violence. To bloody something is to cover it in blood: "I will bloody your nose if you say that again!" It comes from the Old English blodig, from blod, or "blood."
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.
See Examples For:
She added: "I know I would have made a bloody good granny."
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The Buddha, seeing him bruised, bloody, and weeping, smiles and tells him he must bear it.
From Slate ● Jul. 10, 2026
The action, which is not bloody or at all deadly, has the fizzy charm and slapstick charge of prime Jackie Chan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
Lenin’s party would soon take power, provoking a long and bloody civil war out of which would emerge the Soviet Union.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
A whole hour later, tired, our knees bloody from battering them against the rocks we had to climb, we found Auk XIV.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
Beloved in Italy, it anticipates “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” though its sense of humor is broader and its budget evidently bigger, with bloodier battles and cinematography that approaches the picturesque.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026
Their stories are little-known footnotes of Cold War history, but six American GIs provide possible roadmaps for his future — though a COVID-19-era development could be a benchmark for a bloodier outcome.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 19, 2023
American officials feared a much bloodier outcome from likely clashes between Wagner forces moving north toward Moscow and Russian security personnel along the way, one senior U.S. military official said.
From New York Times ● Jun. 29, 2023
Still, just on a surface level this is an alluring film, all about what happens when people bring their carefully constructed online personas into the messier, bloodier real world.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2023
Whatever hypothesis may be adopted, be this conspiracy true or false, there is no bloodier, probably no blacker page in history than that which records its development.
From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 20, No. 559, July 28, 1832 by Various
The 60-year-old general had come under criticism for the costly defense of Bakhmut, one of the bloodiest battles of the war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Inspired by Khalra's life, the film follows an activist investigating alleged human rights abuses during Punjab's separatist insurgency, one of the bloodiest chapters in modern Indian history.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
It was a key chapter in the road to independence in 1963, and the British response was one of the bloodiest episodes in its colonial history.
From Barron's ● Feb. 14, 2026
Although this may have been the bloodiest incident involving American tourists at the historic monument, it is far from the first.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2025
From then on, even in the bloodiest periods of the war, the two commanders would arrange truces to exchange prisoners.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
But the outlook for more than one team joining the Wildcats is growing bleaker by the week as the conference bloodies itself.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 12, 2024
And when the pope returns to Rome on Sunday, the country’s woes will remain, both in the violence that bloodies the land and in the treasure buried in the soil.
From New York Times ● Feb. 4, 2023
But in creativity, knocking harder often just bloodies your knuckles.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 22, 2020
The son of a Yorkshire butcher, Bennett may be wishing against wish for a good honest job that bloodies the hands.
From Time Magazine Archive
He never bloodies his sword but in heat of battle, and had rather save one of his own soldiers than kill ten of his enemies.
From Character Writings of the 17th Century by Various
The ad featured the iconic photograph of Curran helping a bloodied Trump off the stage in Butler.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
After some 2,300 miles later, the walk ended this week in Washington, D.C., accompanied by images of worn shoes and battered, bloodied feet.
From Salon ● Feb. 13, 2026
Pimblett, 31, was as brave as he was bloodied through five action-packed rounds that had both men swinging at the final bell.
From BBC ● Jan. 25, 2026
Her organisation recently carried out a mission to the Bulgaria-Turkey border, where NGOs have documented cases of animals trapped for days or weeks, bringing back footage of bloodied livestock and cows giving birth beside trucks.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2025
“Oh, good grief,” she suddenly groaned, and flung her bloodied arms down to her side.
From "Dead End in Norvelt" by Jack Gantos
You have to applaud Hamrouni, in that moment and others, for literally bloodying the nose of the patriarchy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2023
Then at 5-3, while Raducanu was serving for the match, she slid on the court chasing a ball to her backhand side, bloodying her left knee.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 11, 2021
Descending after the first big drop, it was reported that a 10-pound goose suddenly materialized in front of Fabio's face, bloodying him and then expiring as a result of the midair collision.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2021
The sports world should have seen several more years of that Ali, opening jaws and bloodying lips, but two fights later, his 1,314 days in exile began.
From Slate ● Jun. 4, 2016
Deciding it would be better to stand the rest of the way than risk bloodying my nose, I rose to my feet and offered him my seat.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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.
