carnage
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of carnage
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Middle French, from Italian carnaggio, from Medieval Latin carnāticum “payment or offering in meat,” equivalent to Latin carn- (stem of carō ) “flesh” + -āticum noun sufffix; see -age
Explanation
Carnage is mass murder. If you have seen news footage of a village after a bomb has been detonated, you probably saw a scene of carnage. Carnage comes from the Latin carnaticum, meaning "flesh" or "slaughter of animals." Carnage is often used to describe the brutal killing of many people, but can also refer to large numbers of animals that have been butchered.
Vocabulary lists containing carnage
Donald Trump Inauguration Address- January 20, 2017
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Persepolis
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Achievement First 7th Grade IA 1 Words
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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.
Speaking to the BBC on Friday and Saturday, travellers variously described the situation as "absolute chaos" and "carnage".
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
To be sure, this high-level view of the market overlooks some of the carnage unfolding beneath the surface.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
The first film, 2002’s “Jackass: The Movie” was slow to discover that carnage without camaraderie is painful; several injuries limped off-screen in horrified silence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Broad benchmarks, and the hyperscalers, regained some ground by Tuesday afternoon, but the carnage in chip stocks remained.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Loki climbed out from under the table, in his original shape, and surveyed the carnage.
From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman
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.
