bloody

adjective \ ˈblə-dē \

|Updated on: 22 Jul 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: bloody in a Sentence

Definition of bloody

bloodier; bloodiest

1 a : containing or made up of blood

b : of or contained in the blood

2 : smeared or stained with blood

3 a : accompanied by or involving bloodshed; especially : marked by great slaughter

a bloody battle

b : marked by fierce conflict

In the end the litigation proved exhaustive and bloody but successful.
—David Wild

4 a : murderous

b : merciless, cruel

5 : bloodred

6 British, informal + sometimes offensive : damned —often used as an intensive

acting like a bloody fool

—

bloodily

play \ˈblə-dᵊl-ē\ adverb

—

bloodiness

play \ˈblə-dē-nəs\ noun

See bloody defined for English-language learners

See bloody defined for kids

Examples of bloody in a Sentence

He hit me and gave me a bloody nose.
after the fight, her shirt was all bloody

Recent Examples of bloody from the Web

After watching in terror as a man violently attacked a police officer in an El Cajon fast-food restaurant, Iesha Booker checked for a pulse on the bloody, unconscious officer and yelled into the radio on his belt.

— karen kucher, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Bus driver screams 'Officer down!' into radio of injured cop," 19 July 2017
Photos of the man in a hospital bed with a bloody mouth were also posted.

— jonece starr dunigan, AL.com, "Man accuses Rainbow City police of brutality; police refute," 14 July 2017
A man found the baby bloody but still breathing and asked security at the building to call 911, prosecutors said at the time.

— chicago tribune staff, chicagotribune.com, "Woman admits to dropping baby to death in Uptown, gets probation," 10 July 2017
His comments came after weeks of saber-rattling in New Delhi and Beijing, as officials from both sides talk up a potential clash even bloodier than their 1962 war that left thousands dead.

— Bloomberg.com, "China Demands India Leave Himalayan Plateau in Rising Spat," 6 July 2017
For example, at Chester’s Roman Amphitheatre, centurion Marcus Aurelius Nepos tells about England’s bloody combat history at the spot.

— jennifer billock, Smithsonian, "Five Augmented Reality Experiences That Bring Museum Exhibits to Life," 30 June 2017
Collapsing the roof isn’t a spur-of-the-moment thing, either—our experience involved about three minutes, two swearing fits, and at least one bloody knuckle.

— mike duff, Car and Driver, "2018 Morgan 4/4," 30 June 2017
Instead, there’s glee for Trump’s base in watching Trump bring justice to the streets of media Gotham, flinging Batarangs of acerbic nastiness at Mika Brzezinski’s bloody face.

— ben shapiro, National Review, "No One Emerges from Trump’s Feud with the Media Looking Good," 5 July 2017
His next memory was waking up on the floor with a bloody nose and painful headache.

— michael osipoff, Post-Tribune, "RailCats release former Portage star after criminal charges filed," 3 July 2017

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

bloody Synonyms

Synonyms

bloodthirsty, bloody-minded, homicidal, murdering, murderous, sanguinary, sanguine;

Near Antonyms

appeasing, conciliatory, disarming, dovish, mollifying, pacific, pacifying, peaceable, peaceful, peacemaking, placating, placative, placatory, propitiatory;

unaggressive, unassertive;

benign, benignant, compassionate, good-hearted, humane, kind, kindhearted, sympathetic, tenderhearted;

tender, warm, warmhearted;

clement, lenient, merciful;

affable, amiable, amicable, benevolent, gentle, kindly;

submissive, surrendering, yielding;

antagonistic, ferocious, fierce, gladiatorial, hostile;

aggressive, assertive, bellicose, belligerent, combative, contentious, discordant, pugnacious, quarrelsome, scrappy, truculent, violent;

merciless, pitiless, ruthless;

bloodstained, fell, gory, grim;

despiteful, hateful, malevolent, malicious, malign, malignant, mean, nasty, spiteful;

Synonym Discussion of bloody

bloody, sanguinary, gory mean affected by or involving the shedding of blood. bloody is applied especially to things that are actually covered with blood or are made up of blood.

- bloody hands

sanguinary applies especially to something attended by, or someone inclined to, bloodshed.

- the Civil War was America's most sanguinary conflict

gory suggests a profusion of blood and slaughter.

- exceptionally gory, even for a horror movie

bloody

verb

Definition of bloody

bloodied; bloodying

transitive verb

1 : to make bloody or bloodred

a punch that bloodied his nose

2 : harm, damage

an administration bloodied by scandal

See bloody defined for English-language learners

Examples of bloody in a Sentence

He hit me and bloodied my nose.
the politician's reputation was permanently bloodied by the rumors of corruption

Recent Examples of bloody from the Web

Caldwell’s knees and fingers were bloodied and Honnold got a nasty rope burn in a fall that tore a chunk from a finger.

— Fox News, "Masters of rock: Climbers at California's Yosemite shatter El Capitan's speed record," 6 June 2018
Comedian Kathy Griffin, who also caused widespread condemnation for posing with the fake, bloodied, decapitated head of President Trump last year, defended Bee by tweeting the text of the First Amendment to champion free speech.

— NBC News, "Samantha Bee apologizes for 'inexcusable' remark aimed at Ivanka Trump," 31 May 2018
Once inside the apartment, Williams beat and bloodied the victim, then raped her and forced her to take a shower before leaving, according to the prosecutor.

— city news service, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Man who raped two at gunpoint sentenced to life term," 29 May 2018
Hollins was bloodied and bruised when two men identified as the now-former officers were caught on video hitting and kicking him during a traffic stop.

— CBS News, "2 ex-cops indicted for allegedly stomping, hitting handcuffed man," 1 Mar. 2018
VerHagen missed the ball, which hit him squarely in the nose, bloodying him.

— anthony fenech, Detroit Free Press, "Boyd slammed early as Detroit Tigers fall to Reds, 9-5, in Cincy," 19 June 2018
England were humbled in South Africa, France were bloodied in New Zealand and Ireland went down in Australia last weekend.

— CNN, "Rugby's southern hemisphere sides strike first blows," 11 June 2018
Once the situation was contained, the mother — who had been bloodied in the fight — was taken to an area hospital for treatment, police told the Sun.

— jared gilmour, miamiherald, "Husband, wife and son tackled, choked and punched cops — and each other, Baltimore police say," 6 June 2018
The first call for help to the King County Sheriff’s Office, at 10:42 a.m., came from Isaac Sederbaum, a 31-year-old Seattle man, his ear mangled and his head, face and neck bloodied after being jumped by the big cat.

— erik lacitis, The Seattle Times, "911 calls on cougar attack near Snoqualmie: Dropped calls and a ‘Help!’," 24 May 2018