BAD BLOOD Synonyms: 52 Similar and Opposite Words

bad blood

noun

Definition of bad blood

as in hostility

a deep-seated ill will there's been bad blood between the two families for years

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of bad blood Some of that stems from the political relations between the two nations off the pitch, but much bad blood has also been developed by a string of controversial matches on it. — Ben Church, CNN Money, 15 July 2026 Despite the lineup change, Ferrer said there was no bad blood. — Lily Brown, PEOPLE, 13 July 2026 Her involvement in the legal battle is rumored to have sparked bad blood between the two women. — Michael Nied, InStyle, 4 July 2026 There’s no bad blood, though, with both offering nothing but good words to say about each other and wishing each other luck moving forward. — Sean Campbell, Sacbee.com, 1 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for bad blood

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bad blood

Noun

The Soviet Union took them from Japan in the final days of World War II, and the dispute has kept the countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending their hostilities.

— ABC News, ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026
Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were already at loggerheads over Syria, with Saudi Arabia backing the post-Assad regime and the UAE sharing Israel’s hostility to it, and Yemen, where Saudi Arabia had just driven out Emirati proxies.

— MARC LYNCH, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of hostility

Noun

Sure, Rand Paul has a personal grudge against him, but Paul is crazier than a sh–house rat.

— Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 13 Aug. 2026
Christian, convinced a nobleman had done it, had the man executed without much proof, a grudge that helped cost him his crown a few years later.

— Winston Ross, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026

Definition of grudge

Noun

Christian leaders, along with the mayor of Dearborn and the chief of police, came together Monday afternoon to send out a message of unity against hatred.

— Heath Kalb, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026
Ungodlike thoughts and their outcomes are not negated just by trying not to think about evil, mistakes, disease, hatred, lack, sorrow, etc.

— The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of hatred

Noun

Little united the Syrian rebels during the country’s civil war from 2011 to 2024 outside of their hatred of Assad, and Damascus has sought to cultivate this memory of bitterness to keep the country’s disparate groups together.

— Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 11 Aug. 2026
The tea supplies tannins and bitterness while maple and orange recreate that familiar balance of sweet, bitter and citrus.

— Ryan Brennan August 9, Kansas City Star, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of bitterness

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bad

bad blood

baddie

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“Bad blood.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bad%20blood. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of bad blood

noun

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