bloody-minded

adjective

ˌblə-dē-ˈmīn-dəd How to pronounce bloody-minded (audio)
Definition of bloody-mindednext
1
as in murderous
eager for or marked by the shedding of blood, extreme violence, or killing The outlaw was bloody-minded in pursuit of vengeance against the authorities.

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in irritable
chiefly British having or showing a habitually bad temper according to palace gossip, behind closed doors the prince was a bloody-minded bore

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 bloody-minded Meanwhile, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind are under tremendous economic pressure to make their models more and more capable, which means that the bloody-minded reinforcement learning is all but certain to accelerate. — Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 22 July 2026 Goalkeeper Matz Sels, centre-backs Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo and combative midfielder Ibrahim Sangare all epitomised the bloody-minded spirit that helped Forest keep a clean sheet. — Paul Taylor, New York Times, 23 Mar. 2026 Suffice to say that Marseille, the oldest city in France, also developed a bloody-minded streak that would have no doubt impressed Caesar himself in the coming centuries. — The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 20 June 2025 How could a team in black and white be this unflinching, so bloody-minded and determined? — Chris Waugh, The Athletic, 6 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bloody-minded
  1. murderous
  2. irritable
  3. bloody
  4. angry
  5. brutal
  6. cantankerous
  7. savage
  8. ornery
Adjective
  • The celebs are competing to weed out the murderous Traitors among them for a cash prize of £100,000 for a charity of their choice in Ardross Castle in the Highlands.
    — Mya Copeland, Variety, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The Sparrows’ survival under Nazi questioning depended on the Hungarians handing them over to law-respecting German military officers, rather than the murderous Gestapo.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of murderous
Adjective
  • Coach There’s no better feeling than walking into your last show of the day, irritable and hungry, only to discover that snacks are being served.
    — Anna Grace Lee, Vogue, 17 Sep. 2026
  • If a relative or housemate seems irritable, ask what’s going on instead of working around the mood.
    — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of irritable
Adjective
  • Mel Ismail, a 56-year-old father, was rescued by another surfer who just happened to show up at the beach and was willing to risk his own life by grabbing his board and heading towards the bloody water.
    — Sean Joseph OutKick, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026
  • In a first round that portended a lengthy and bloody fight, the Dodgers clutched to a 1-0 lead after three innings with ace Tarik Skubal on the mound and Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski headed for the showers.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of bloody
Adjective
  • To argue that calling them immigrants is technically wrong is like getting angry at people who don’t pronounce Los Feliz the Spanish way.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Sheriff Rick Ramsay said Monday that the father later told detectives that Lopez was angry that prosecutors didn’t offer him any plea deals, so his son planned to leave the country rather than face conviction.
    — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of angry
Adjective
  • Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles is fighting for his job security after a brutal start to the season.
    — Scott Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 9 Oct. 2026
  • There’s the brutal heat; the skin destroying UV-rays of that miserable, scorching, eye-blinding sun; the constant allergy/sinusitis issues that NEVER let up; the smothering humidity.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of brutal
Adjective
  • Close plays Maud Oldcastle, a cantankerous older woman who’s spent her life caring for her sister, and killing people.
    — Emily Longeretta, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
  • She is described as brusque, cantankerous, ruthless — and also a killer.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of cantankerous
Adjective
  • The Indian pilot who fought off a savage attack by his copilot and helped prevent an apparent hijack of a Flydubai plane heading to Israel with more than 170 people on board is being hailed as a hero.
    — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index weathered a savage 30% drawdown, has been choppily trendless for two months, then in recent days finally broke above its downtrend and surmounted the 50-day moving average.
    — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of savage
Adjective
  • White and Madison are sort of like Tom Cruise and Demi Moore, building a mountain of evidence against the company, while Strong is playing an ornery witness a la Jack Nicholson.
    — Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 7 Oct. 2026
  • But however janky, the system just about works for the ornery menfolk muddling their way through it, with their many beefs mostly resolved with a bottle of lethally alcoholic local tipple chacha, or a punch to the face, or both.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of ornery

Browse Nearby Words

bloodying
bloody-minded
bloody-mindedness
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Cite this Entry

“Bloody-minded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bloody-minded. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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