bloodletting

noun blood·let·ting \ -ˌle-tiŋ \

|Updated on: 20 Jun 2018

Definition of bloodletting

1 : phlebotomy

2 : bloodshed

3 : elimination of personnel or resources

4 : severe criticism

Take the English, the undisputed champions at verbal bloodletting.
—Bill Ott

: a harsh verbal or written attack

But what makes "Cinderella & Company" more than just a book-length bloodletting is Hoelterhoff's unexpected sympathy for most of the singers about whom she writes.
—Terry Teachout

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Recent Examples of bloodletting from the Web

Pharoah’s victory was a communal bloodletting that ended 37 years of desperation between Triple Crowns.

— baltimoresun.com, "What they're saying about Justify's Triple Crown victory," 10 June 2018
Pharoah’s victory was a communal bloodletting that ended 37 years of desperation between Triple Crowns.

— tim layden, SI.com, "It's Instinctive to Compare Justify's Triple Crown to American Pharoah's but Both Share Connection to Greatness," 10 June 2018
Then comes the ultimate prize, stabilizing Syria by stopping Mr. Assad’s domestic bloodletting, containing the spread of Sunni extremism, and ideally opening the door for Syrian migrants to return home.

— daniel j. arbess, WSJ, "Is Trump Following a Grand Mideast Strategy?," 5 June 2018
The modern Middle East has been plagued by ruinous wars: country versus country, civil wars with internecine and sectarian bloodletting, and numerous eruptions centered in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

— Washington Post, "Mideast conflicts connected by vying powerbrokers," 17 May 2018
In the ferocious sectarian bloodletting that followed, his cadres engaged in horrific killing sprees against Sunni Muslims.

— nabih bulos, latimes.com, "As election results are announced in Iraq, a new role emerges for a longtime U.S. adversary," 15 May 2018
The bloodletting will run from June 22 through July 8.

— tom titus, latimes.com, "On Theater: Vanguard University schedules shows for summer and its 2018-19 season," 31 May 2018
The question is whether the victims needed that, as bloodletting, and the question is should the justice system allow that?

— jill lepore, The New Yorker, "The Rise of the Victims’-Rights Movement," 14 May 2018
Pretty soon, the campaign bloodletting will get serious, candidates savaging each other in the hopes of knocking the other contenders out of the way and winning that throne on City Hall’s fifth floor.

— mary schmich, chicagotribune.com, "Before the bloodletting, let's pause to appreciate our eclectic team of mayoral candidates," 10 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bloodletting.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of bloodletting

before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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BLOODLETTING Defined for English Language Learners

bloodletting

noun

Definition of bloodletting for English Language Learners

: the former practice of taking some blood out of the bodies of sick people to heal them
: the practice of causing someone to bleed as part of a religious ceremony
: the killing of people