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internecine

adjective in·ter·ne·cine \ ˌin-tər-ˈne-ˌsēn , -ˈnē-sᵊn , -ˈnē-ˌsīn , -nə-ˈsēn ; in-ˈtər-nə-ˌsēn \
|Updated on: 20 Jun 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

  1. a political party that has suffered because of bitter internecine rivalries

Recent Examples of internecine from the Web

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

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

Learn More about internecine

  1. See words that rhyme with internecine Spanish Central: Translation of internecine Nglish: Translation of internecine for Spanish speakers

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