internecine

adjective in·ter·ne·cine \ ˌin-tər-ˈne-ˌsēn , -ˈnē-sᵊn , -ˈnē-ˌsīn , -nə-ˈsēn ; in-ˈtər-nə-ˌsēn \

Updated on: 12 Apr 2018

Definition of internecine

1 : marked by slaughter : deadly; especially : mutually destructive

2 : of, relating to, or involving conflict within a group

bitter internecine feuds

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Examples of internecine in a Sentence

a political party that has suffered because of bitter internecine rivalries

Recent Examples of internecine from the Web

As the Times’ Op-Ed section has become the subject of internecine media controversy, largely over the quality and the usefulness of its conservative contributorship, Douthat stands as the cleverest and least predictable writer there.

— rachel aviv, The New Yorker, "Will Pope Francis Cause a Schism in the Catholic Church?," 7 Sep. 2015
During the last year, internecine political battles over the road have left the country’s citizens confused and clamoring to be heard.

— National Geographic, "Isolated Tribes and Forests Threatened by New Amazon Road," 23 Mar. 2018
Killmonger himself is a kind of avatar of the BPP’s deterioration in its latter years, when rebelling against white supremacy gave way to internecine bloodshed.

— adam serwer, The Atlantic, "The Tragedy of Erik Killmonger," 21 Feb. 2018
And yet this anecdotal movie about drug dealers and their internecine troubles, and their further troubles with the justice system, can be oddly persuasive.

— glenn kenny, New York Times, "Review: ‘Honor Up’ Offers a Raw View of Gangster Life," 15 Feb. 2018
Impossible idealism, intense commitment, immense difficulty, internecine political negotiations, and sometimes bitter rivalry, have been the hallmarks of polio eradication from the very beginning.

— karen bartlett, Newsweek, "Eradicating the Last 1% of Polio Is Deadly but Essential," 28 Nov. 2014
The decisions are there for the making up and down the ballot as each party undergoes an internecine struggle between its left and right wings.

— peggy fikac, San Antonio Express-News, "Primaries shapes future for candidates and their parties," 4 Mar. 2018
Trump's announcement surprised some of his own top officials, who on Friday appeared to be continuing an internecine battle in the White House over Trump's protectionist leanings.

— don lee, latimes.com, "White House official says Trump's tariffs on imported metals are across the board," 2 Mar. 2018
The ruling al-Thani family was riven by vicious internecine squabbles and periodic coups.

— written by declan walsh; photographs by tomas munita, New York Times, "Tiny, Wealthy Qatar Goes Its Own Way, and Pays for It," 22 Jan. 2018

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

Did You Know?

Internecine comes from the Latin internecinus ("fought to the death" or "destructive"), which traces to the verb "necare" ("to kill") and the prefix inter-. ("Inter-" usually means "between" or "mutual" in Latin, but it can also indicate the completion of an action.) Internecine meant "deadly" when it appeared in English in 1663, but when Samuel Johnson entered it in his dictionary almost a century later, he was apparently misled by "inter-" and defined the word as "endeavouring mutual destruction." Johnson's definition was carried into later dictionaries, and before long his sense was the dominant meaning of the word. "Internecine" developed the association with internal group conflict in the 20th century, and that's the most common sense today.

Origin and Etymology of internecine

Latin internecinus, from internecare to destroy, kill, from inter- + necare to kill, from nec-, nex violent death — more at noxious

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1642

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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INTERNECINE Defined for English Language Learners

internecine

adjective

Definition of internecine for English Language Learners

: occurring between members of the same country, group, or organization

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internecine

Definition of internecine

internecine was our Word of the Day on 04/29/2007. Hear the podcast!

Examples of internecine in a Sentence

Recent Examples of internecine from the Web

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Origin and Etymology of internecine

INTERNECINE Defined for English Language Learners

internecine

Definition of internecine for English Language Learners

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