bloodlust

noun

Definition of bloodlustnext
as in brutality
the desire to kill or to see people killed warriors inflamed by bloodlust

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Example Sentences

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 bloodlust But surely in addition to terrorizing the locals for centuries while Warren was hanging out in a coffin, the island looked toward other solutions for its bloodlust. — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 17 June 2026 The sisters’ mission involves a dangerous and violent road trip; the fierce Racine outdoes the sensitive Anaia in her bloodlust, and the drama, reminiscent of classical tragedy, resounds with mythopoetic overtones. — Sheldon Pearce, New Yorker, 15 May 2026 Jones was prepared for the bloodlust of the rivalry, the physicality required. — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 28 Apr. 2026 Do better, or consider hiring people who paint a vivid enough picture with words rather than having to lean on photographers who seem to have an obscene bloodlust. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 4 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bloodlust
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bloodlust
  1. brutality
  2. murderousness
  3. bloodthirstiness
  4. meanness
  5. savagery
  6. cruelty
  7. sadism
  8. barbarity
Noun
  • The story is organized by the seasons, and the director uses changes in the weather and the light to build the picture’s gathering mood of ossified brutality.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2026
  • The brutality of American immigration enforcement is nothing new.
    — Francisco Cantú, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of brutality
Noun
  • The guy was a sleaze, but there’s a pretty big gap between sleaziness and murderousness.
    — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 12 Dec. 2025
Definition of murderousness
Noun
  • The findings can’t be extrapolated to the real world — the scenarios were extreme, with the regimes often facing first strikes or annihilation — but revealed AIs’ skill at strategic reasoning, as well as a certain bloodthirstiness.
    — Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 4 Mar. 2026
Definition of bloodthirstiness
Noun
  • Thus, under the name of Order and Civil Government, we are all made at last to pay homage to and support our own meanness.
    — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Don’t give in to that meanness, and that false belief in scarcity.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of meanness
Noun
  • The poem’s anguished meditations on love’s savagery and isolation are designed to draw blood.
    — Merve Emre, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2026
  • In a culture that refuses to accept its responsibilities, its complicities, we are all reduced, in some essential measure, to a state of savagery.
    — David L. Ulin, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of savagery
Noun
  • Orange County prosecutors also charged Nguyen with animal cruelty and animal abuse by a caretaker, both felonies, and a sentencing enhancement alleging the personal use of a weapon.
    — Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2026
  • What readers are saying The comments express outrage and sadness over the cruelty inflicted on kittens, with many calling for harsher penalties for animal abuse.
    — Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 31 Oct. 2026
Definition of cruelty
Noun
  • School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, might well come closest in approach to Kimberly Belflower’s urgent John Proctor Is The Villain in its insistence that homeroom sadism doesn’t just spring from hormones or reindeer game competition.
    — Greg Evans, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Lagioia’s book goes into disturbing detail about what came next; suffice it to say that Luca’s murder tested the bounds of sadism.
    — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of sadism
Noun
  • The Soviets and their allies might have sophisticated weaponry and boundless barbarity.
    — Scott Simon, NPR, 24 Oct. 2026
  • What wasn’t new was the continuation of the kind of barbarity that dominated conflicts of recent memory, from Cambodia to Rwanda.
    — David Friend, Vanity Fair, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of barbarity

Browse Nearby Words

bloodlines
bloodlust
bloodred
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Cite this Entry

“Bloodlust.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bloodlust. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

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