internecine

adjective

in·​ter·​ne·​cine ˌin-tər-ˈne-ˌsēn 

-ˈnē-sᵊn,

-ˈnē-ˌsīn,

-nə-ˈsēn;

in-ˈtər-nə-ˌsēn

1

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

bitter internecine feuds

2

: marked by slaughter : deadly

especially : mutually destructive

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 the early 17th century, 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

In any event, this is the kind of thing that, in the past, has ignited bloody internecine wars that end up killing lots and lots of people before a new equilibrium is achieved. —Eduardo Porter, Washington Post, 30 July 2024

The quick coalescing behind Harris marked an attempt by the party to put weeks of internecine drama over Biden’s political future behind them and to unify behind the task of defeating Trump. —Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 23 July 2024

More to the point, this is no time for internecine battles among Democrats. —Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 22 July 2024

Biden’s disastrous performance in his June 27 debate with Trump, which plunged the Democratic Party into an internecine struggle between his supporters and those who would prefer a different standard bearer, accelerated the move to Trump. —Jennifer Jacobs and Bill Allison / Bloomberg, TIME, 16 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1642, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

internecine

adjective

in·​ter·​ne·​cine ˈint-ər-ˈnes-ˌēn 

-ˈnē-ˌsīn;

in-ˈtər-nə-ˌsēn

1

: marked by slaughter : deadly

2

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

internecine feuds