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sparagmos

American  
[spuh-rag-muhs] / spəˈræg məs /

noun

  1. the tearing to pieces of a live victim, as a bull or a calf, by a band of bacchantes in a Dionysian orgy.

Etymology

Origin of sparagmos

From the Greek word sparagmós literally, tearing

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.

The miscreants who enact the sparagmos of the heroine by tearing her into a hundred pieces are also female.

From The Guardian

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.