dog-eat-dog

adjective

Definition of dog-eat-dognext
as in opportunistic

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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 dog-eat-dog Rhyme schemes become secondary to dog-eat-dog dogma. — Pitchfork, 10 Dec. 2025 Stability and predictability would be the exception, not the norm, in a dog-eat-dog world. — Alexander Stubb, Foreign Affairs, 2 Dec. 2025 Joy radiates in the room, and a dog-eat-dog environment where people cut each other off is replaced by open collaboration. — Barry Levitt, Time, 19 Sep. 2025 Each episode is built around a tense, dog-eat-dog hunt, where each player becomes either a Predator or Prey. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 2 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for dog-eat-dog
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dog-eat-dog
  1. opportunistic
  2. corrupt
  3. depraved
  4. degenerate
  5. debased
  6. debauched
  7. profligate
  8. demoralized
Adjective
  • The collective research indicates that the opportunistic ruffed grouse eats just about anything.
    — Tom Huggler, Outdoor Life, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The opportunistic pathogen was first identified in 1986 from the brain of a San Diego Zoo monkey, which died from the infection.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of opportunistic
Adjective
  • The duo and two others, Mohammed Hurabi and Lars Zeepvat, were hit with the worst charges — felony corrupt organizations, conspiracy, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity, and other related offenses.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Agostino Abbatiello, Thomas Robinson, Mohammed Hurabi and Lars Zeepvat are facing several felony charges, including corrupt organizations, conspiracy and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity.
    — Madeline Bartos, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of corrupt
Adjective
  • In the mid-1970s, Slash’s mother, the costume designer Ola Hudson, worked on the American production of The Rocky Horror Show, whose Frank-N-Furter is the unmistakable touchstone of Bourzgui’s David, down to the depraved purr.
    — Sarah Grant, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2026
  • But Cheekface will still be here, filtering our depraved mutterings into sardonic bangers.
    — Zach Schonfeld, Pitchfork, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of depraved
Adjective
  • Or when some man behaving like a degenerate gambler plods into Chelsea Gray’s DMs with a disgusting slur.
    — Candace Buckner, New York Times, 27 July 2026
  • Populist theatrics, divorced from the prosaic work of consensus-building and problem-solving, degenerate into political escapism.
    — Will Marshall, Washington Post, 18 July 2026
Definition of degenerate
Adjective
  • That wasn’t its only subject; comedy and power and misogyny and creativity and intergenerational conflict and work ethic and, especially in its last few seasons, the debased state of the entertainment industry were all richly explored through lines.
    — Judy Berman, Time, 8 July 2026
  • And this has lent Margot a debased sort of celebrity.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 6 Apr. 2026
Definition of debased
Adjective
  • For his story was a record of his most debauched thoughts and desires.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026
  • His dissolute, debauched lifestyle was due for a reckoning and could have sunk into tropes of the season’s theme.
    — Jennifer Maas, Variety, 10 June 2026
Definition of debauched
Adjective
  • Just as life in industrial urban centers in the nineteenth century caused hardship in rural villages, the profligate lifestyles enjoyed by those of us in the Global North are underwritten by the immiseration of those in the Global South.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 July 2026
  • Avoid the impulse to label someone as cheap or profligate after one or two dates, AARP advises.
    — Daniel de Visé, USA Today, 6 June 2026
Definition of profligate
Adjective
  • Despite being outnumbered and outmaneuvered, Washington maintained order among his demoralized troops.
    — Christopher Magra, The Conversation, 10 Feb. 2026
  • The Democratic Party has funneled all the fury of its demoralized and humiliated voter base into a focal point centered on immigration policy.
    — Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 21 Jan. 2026
Definition of demoralized

Browse Nearby Words

dog-eared
dog-eat-dog
dogface
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dog-eat-dog.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dog-eat-dog. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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