gladiatorial

American  

[glad-ee-uh-tawr-ee-uhl, -tohr-] / ˌglæd i əˈtɔr i əl, -ˈtoʊr- /

adjective

1. of or relating to gladiators or to their combats.

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gladiatorial British  

/ ˌɡlædɪəˈtɔːrɪəl /

adjective

1. of, characteristic of, or relating to gladiators, combat, etc

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Etymology

Origin of gladiatorial

1745–55; < Latin gladiātōri ( us ) ( gladiator, -tory ¹ ) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Jacob Tierney, a Canadian writer and director who adapted “Heated Rivalry” for television, thinks hockey fights might lend a “gladiatorial aspect” that people find attractive.

From The Wall Street Journal

The gladiatorial stadium stands between England and parity in the Ashes series.

From BBC

If you tuned into the Culture, Media and Sport committee hearing on Monday expecting a gladiatorial showdown, you'd have been left wondering where the swords were.

From BBC

But we aren’t going to get it as long as we indulge the rhetorical gladiatorial fantasies of the “Debate Me” Bros.

From Salon

That isn’t enough to sway the gladiatorial majority, which is mostly made up of men grinning at the fattening piggy bank suspended above them.

From Salon

Related Words

• belligerent
• cantankerous
• combative
• contentious
• fractious
• litigious
• petulant
• tempestuous
• turbulent
• unruly