sanguinary

American  

[sang-gwuh-ner-ee] / ˈsæŋ gwəˌnɛr i /

adjective

1. full of or characterized by bloodshed; bloody.

   a sanguinary struggle.

2. ready or eager to shed blood; bloodthirsty.

   Synonyms:

   savage, cruel, murderous

   Antonyms:

   kind

3. composed of or marked with blood.

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sanguinary British  

/ ˈsæŋɡwɪnərɪ /

adjective

1. accompanied by much bloodshed

2. bloodthirsty

3. consisting of, flowing, or stained with blood

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Other Word Forms

• sanguinarily adverb
• sanguinariness noun
• unsanguinarily adverb
• unsanguinariness noun
• unsanguinary adjective

Etymology

Origin of sanguinary

First recorded in 1540–50, sanguinary is from the Latin word sanguinārius bloody. See sanguine, -ary

Explanation

When something is sanguinary it involves a lot of blood or, at least, the pursuit of blood. Vampire movies are sanguinary: Romper Room is not. If you're familiar with French, then you'll recognize the French word for "blood," sang, in sanguinary. And if you do, then you'll have no trouble remembering the meaning, "having a bloodthirsty quality." Movies have become increasingly sanguinary. Why all the blood and gore? What happened to good old-fashioned suspense?

Example Sentences

His Anglican church was the product of sanguinary religious wars of the 16th and 17th centuries, and he witnessed anti-colonial uprisings throughout Africa.

From Washington Post • Dec. 28, 2021

But such occasional resonances feel more accidental and inconsistent, or at least beside the sanguinary point.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 4, 2018

The purpose of clemency is not to open the prison gates and let people out, but ensure, as Alexander Hamilton put it back in 1788, that justice doesn’t “wear a countenance too sanguinary and cruel”.

From The Guardian • Aug. 21, 2018

The O’Neill work is based in turn on “The Oresteia,” the Aeschylus tragedy about the sanguinary curse on the House of Atreus.

From New York Times • Feb. 15, 2015

I could explain it by arguing that profiting from a pitiful flying fish’s navigational mistake made me shy and sorrowful, while the excitement of actively capturing a great do­rado made me sanguinary and self-assured.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel