internecine

adjective

in·ter·ne·cine | \ ˌin-tər-ˈne-ˌsēn

, -ˈnē-sᵊn, -ˈnē-ˌsīn, -nə-ˈsēn; in-ˈtər-nə-ˌsēn\

Definition of internecine

1 : marked by slaughter : deadly especially : mutually destructive

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

Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about internecine

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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.

Examples of internecine in a Sentence

a political party that has suffered because of bitter internecine rivalries

Recent Examples on the Web

Ms Nahles, a veteran of party intrigue, tried to soldier on in the face of internecine plots. — The Economist, "Andrea Nahles’s resignation leaves Germany’s government teetering," 8 June 2019 Sure, there are some fights – most of them internecine, as various X-Men start to doubt the leadership of Charles, a powerful clairvoyant who is revealed to have tinkered with Jean’s mind as a child. — The Washington Post, The Mercury News, "Review: If it’s the final X-Men chapter, ‘Dark Phoenix’ is appropriately funereal," 7 June 2019 Sure, there are some fights — most of them internecine, as various X-Men start to doubt the leadership of Charles, a powerful clairvoyant who is revealed to have tinkered with Jean’s mind as a child. — Michael O'sullivan, Twin Cities, "‘Dark Phoenix,’ X-Men’s probable swan song, is a dirge," 6 June 2019 The enemy, in this case, are the members of a single internecine family, vis-à-vis one another and their own sorry, self-defeating souls. — New York Times, "Review: Jeremy Irons and Lesley Manville Lead a Hard-Run ‘Long Day’s Journey’," 13 May 2018 Like other societies recovering from internecine violence, Northern Ireland brims... — Michael O’donnell, WSJ, "‘Say Nothing’ Review: The Ballad of Jean McConville," 26 Feb. 2019 Maybe none of this internecine Republican conflict is real. — Chad Pergram, Fox News, "Farm bill, immigration redux, Ryan's potential ouster, like a Shakespeare 'play within a play'," 26 May 2018 The Conservatives’ internecine struggle is on show in everything from the buttons sported by delegates to the dozens of events dedicated to alternative withdrawal plans on the conference’s fringes. — Max Colchester, WSJ, "U.K. Conservative Party Reveals Its Deep Divides," 1 Oct. 2018 Croatia has a population of just four million, and many members of its current team grew up during, or in the immediate aftermath of, the bloody, internecine war that accompanied the collapse of the former Yugoslavia. — Rory Smith, New York Times, "Belgium’s Blueprint, Croatia’s Chaos, and the Murky Path to World Cup Glory," 10 July 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.