bloodletting

noun blood·let·ting \ -ˌle-tiŋ \

Updated on: 29 Mar 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

See bloodletting defined for English-language learners

See bloodletting defined for kids

Recent Examples of bloodletting from the Web

Seven years of bloodletting have killed some 450,000 people and displaced millions.

— sarah el deeb, BostonGlobe.com, "Thousands flee violence in mass exodus from Syrian towns," 16 Mar. 2018
Soldiers later testified to the U.S. Army investigating commission that the bloodletting began quickly when Lt.

— Washington Post, "50 years ago, the My Lai massacre shamed the US military," 15 Mar. 2018
Soldiers later testified to the U.S. Army investigating commission that the bloodletting began quickly when Lt.

— Fox News, "50 years ago, the My Lai massacre shamed the US military," 15 Mar. 2018
As Live Science’s Rafi Letzter explains, the timeline of the book’s history dates back an estimated 1800 years, when Galen first recorded his medical text, including studies of anatomy and treatments such as bloodletting.

— julissa treviño, Smithsonian, "High-Powered X-Rays Reveal What’s Beneath 11th-Century Religious Text," 15 Mar. 2018
With lawmakers poised next month to approve new priorities for agency funding for the first time since the president took office, the bureaucratic bloodletting can officially begin.

— juliet eilperin, Washington Post, "Trump has long vowed to slash government. Now the knives are finally coming out.," 26 Feb. 2018
In his new memoir Boys Keep Swinging, Shears recounts his entire life up to the creative beginnings of Scissor Sisters’ sophomore album—a way of avoiding any bloodletting.

— brennan carley, GQ, "Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears Keeps Making Queer Art for Everyone," 21 Feb. 2018
Stocks were hit hard across the board with only technology surviving Monday's bloodletting in the Dow.

— Anchorage Daily News, "Dow closes down more than 1,100 points after plunging over 1,500 points," 5 Feb. 2018
Much of the blame for the security lapse has focused on the leadership of Mr. Ghani, whose voice has been lacking from the public conversation in the face of the bloodletting.

— mujib mashal and fahim abed, New York Times, "As Afghan Attacks Intensify, So Does Anger at Country’s Leaders," 29 Jan. 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

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