1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

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

Relevance

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
  • As two strangers begin digging into her mysterious past, Pam goes to murderous lengths to keep her secrets buried.
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2026
  • One of Monster’s most interesting narrative moves is to shift the power dynamics between Bridget and Lizzie as their murderous plans get underway.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 18 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
  • At the heart of the new book is the 1968 Battle of Hue, fought during the notoriously bloody Tet Offensive.
    — Simon Ellery, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Appropriated from a John Cale album, the title accurately describes scenes of bloodletting committed by bizarre, scenery-chewing yakuza members, and the energy hovers somewhere around a bloodier-than-baseline Takashi Miike movie from the mid-2000s.
    — Vadim Rizov, Variety, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of bloody
Adjective
  • Now a new Cherry Orchard, the work of another Australian auteur, Simon Stone, has put down roots in the cavernous drill hall of the Park Avenue Armory, and the angry young tutor goes even further.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Punk rock has always been tied to the idea that both artists and listeners are angry — frustrated with the system, furious at injustice.
    — Juan J. Arroyo, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of angry
Adjective
  • Horror films and increasingly brutal crime stories reveal the very large market for the subject.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
  • McKinley stages a few bullet-sweating sequences of peril, including a particularly brutal transport of gold bars across a crumbling rope bridge and an underwater accident exacerbated by floating logs.
    — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of brutal
Adjective
  • Beneath the song's upbeat melody and the movie's cantankerous humor, both deliver a powerful message that women deserve equal pay and treatment in the workplace.
    — Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Slow Horses stars Oldman as Lamb, a brilliant but cantankerous leader of dysfunctional spies who have made career-ending mistakes and end up at a dumping ground MI5 unit known as Slough House.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of cantankerous
Adjective
  • Hamilton lets down Claire’s savage hauteur; Mays’ eyes glisten with all the regrets of lost love.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The savage purge since June of high-momentum stocks – dominated by AI hardware and related industrials – has sapped the bullish aggression of traders, helping to reset tactical sentiment toward a more neutral level.
    — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of savage
Adjective
  • 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
  • The new movie follows a benevolent ex-pilot named Hig (Jacob Elordi) who, after losing his wife during a catastrophic global pandemic, lives out in the wilderness with his dog, Jasper, and ornery isolationist pal Bangley (Josh Brolin).
    — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of ornery

Browse Nearby Words

bloodying
bloody-minded
bloody-mindedness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bloody-minded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bloody-minded. Accessed 24 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of pundit

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All