internecine
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to conflict or struggle within a group.
an internecine feud among proxy holders.
-
mutually destructive.
-
characterized by great slaughter; deadly.
adjective
-
mutually destructive or ruinous; maiming both or all sides
internecine war
-
of or relating to slaughter or carnage; bloody
-
of or involving conflict within a group or organization
Etymology
Origin of internecine
1655–65; < Latin internecīnus, internecīvus murderous, equivalent to internec ( āre ) to kill out, exterminate ( inter- inter- + necāre to kill) + -īnus -ine 1, -īvus -ive
Explanation
Prepare yourself, because internecine is a gloomy word. It’s an adjective you’d use to describe a bloody battle where both sides are badly hurt. On a lighter note, it can also mean a conflict that tears an organization apart. A combination of the Latin inter- ("among") and necare ("to kill"), internecine conflicts are full of blood and death, and they end up destroying everyone involved, which sounds fair but also awful. Many wars are internecine, as are most Shakespearean tragedies and Hollywood action films. An internecine meeting would be one where everyone gets mad, says really horrible things, and then suddenly leaves, plotting revenge. It’s probably the last meeting for that group, which might be a good thing.
Vocabulary lists containing internecine
"The Palace Thief" by Ethan Canin
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Walden
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All the Light We Cannot See
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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.
Senate in Michigan is trying to sidestep another internecine fight by keeping his eye on the goal.
From Slate • Apr. 29, 2026
Afghanistan’s internecine bloodshed has an epiphanic effect on the author: “When death stalks every door,” she writes in a burst of originality, “the only antidote is to live.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025
Cárdenas and Padilla, by contrast, created their empire in a less-Latino area within a generation, making sure to clip any potential internecine drama — or push out those who got in the way.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2024
Dr Hutcheson said "we don't have the answers", but it could be that East Anglia lacked the "smaller scale internecine fighting that meant you needed almost permanent residence" in the fort.
From BBC • Jan. 9, 2024
Along the way, there is internecine strife between the gods and some flying Hell’s Angels, the magnificently apocalyptic Valkyries.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
