carnage

noun

car·​nage ˈkär-nij 

1

: the flesh of slain animals or humans

… a multitude of dogs came to feast on the carnage.

—T. B. Macaulay

2

: great and usually bloody slaughter or injury (as in battle)

the carnage of war

Synonyms of carnage

• massacre
• slaughter

Examples of carnage in a Sentence

Reporters described the highway accident as a scene of carnage.

the appalling carnage in that war-torn country requires that the outside world intervene

Recent Examples on the Web

Trial takes place in downtown Sacramento just blocks from the carnage. —Sacbee.com, 21 Apr. 2026

Their handiwork was on display in the lobby’s Museum of Bizarre Diskasters, an exhibition of silicon carnage. —Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026

The irony and meaninglessness of the carnage rankles, especially when Ulysses is presented as such a nice guy who is prone to de-escalation in his day-to-day work. —Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026

Faces of Death isn’t a remake of the infamous 1978 exploitation landmark, a faux documentary that positioned itself as an anthology of actual carnage (though much of its disturbing footage was fake). —Alison Willmore, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French, from Medieval Latin carnaticum tribute consisting of animals or meat, from Latin carn-, caro — see carnal

First Known Use

1614, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

carnage

noun

car·​nage ˈkär-nij 

: great destruction of life (as in battle) : slaughter