as in opportunistic
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Recent Examples of dog-eat-dog
But peek behind the veil, and a different reality reveals itself: a dog-eat-dog world of power struggles, artifice, hubris, treachery, and duplicity—yet also an enormous amount of sacrifice.
—
Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 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
Ditch the dog-eat-dog mentality and figure out how to combine their apocalyptic gifts against a common enemy.
—Natalie Zutter
june 30, Literary Hub, 30 June 2025
The antics that ensue are amusing, but there isn’t much incisiveness in the increasingly farcical dog-eat-dog dénouement.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 4 June 2025
With or without his unusual backstory, Greenhalgh quickly realised that elite professional football is a dog-eat-dog world, especially for those who are still trying to prove themselves.
—Stuart James, New York Times, 31 May 2025
The risk was getting waived and wallowing in the G League with sparse crowds, commercial travel between remote locales and a dog-eat-dog team culture for as little as $40,500.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 May 2025
And yet, this authentic and downbeat immigrant drama questions what luck means in a ruthless, dog-eat-dog city where only the strongest survive.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 27 May 2025
Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 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
Ditch the dog-eat-dog mentality and figure out how to combine their apocalyptic gifts against a common enemy.
—Natalie Zutter
june 30, Literary Hub, 30 June 2025
The antics that ensue are amusing, but there isn’t much incisiveness in the increasingly farcical dog-eat-dog dénouement.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 4 June 2025
With or without his unusual backstory, Greenhalgh quickly realised that elite professional football is a dog-eat-dog world, especially for those who are still trying to prove themselves.
—Stuart James, New York Times, 31 May 2025
The risk was getting waived and wallowing in the G League with sparse crowds, commercial travel between remote locales and a dog-eat-dog team culture for as little as $40,500.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 May 2025
And yet, this authentic and downbeat immigrant drama questions what luck means in a ruthless, dog-eat-dog city where only the strongest survive.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 27 May 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dog-eat-dog
Adjective
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On the big screen, Harford cared for Sandra Dee’s Rosalie Stocker in The Wild and the Innocent (1959) and portrayed the opportunistic older sister of Natalie Wood’s unstable title character in Inside Daisy Clover (1965), the melodrama directed by Robert Mulligan.—
Mike Barnes,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Nov. 2025
-
Fanning knows exactly to add a slightly Pollyanna-ish aura to her opportunistic yet optimistic synthetic, as well as a cold, menacing vibe when playing her evil synth twin.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Which makes Shelley Joseph today’s poster gal for the corrupt double standards in the Massachusetts legal system.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Trump is running the most brazenly corrupt administration in modern history.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Mercury News,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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But no, a single depraved millionaire really did spend years loaning out trafficked teenagers to his rich and famous friends.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
25 Oct. 2025
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Yet, Trump, who did bring about peace and the freeing of all the remaining Israeli hostages held in inhumane captivity by depraved Hamas terrorists, was ignored.—
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave director Edward Berger is exploring another chill, very normal setting with a somewhat surreal thriller starring Colin Farrell as a degenerate gambler who is making a last-ditch effort to get out of the mountain of debt he’s made for himself.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
1 Nov. 2025
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In the quiet of the Sabbath morning when all the neighborhood was wrapped in slumber, some dastardly degenerate crept into the room, choked her to death, assaulted her criminally and left her bruised and bleeding body lying on the bed.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Only the first is still fashionable, and the last has been so debased, misused, and weaponized over the centuries as to be almost unspeakable in polite company.—
Zadie Smith,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
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But in recent years, acts of brazen violence have been the grim drumbeat of a debased national politics.—
Eric Cortellessa,
Time,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The film follows a wealthy socialite and a struggling writer who are thrown together at a debauched party.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Of course, the same folks who said Trump’s tariffs would cause runaway inflation also said Biden’s profligate spending wouldn’t cause inflation.—
E.J. Antoni,
Boston Herald,
13 July 2025
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Dembele, once a creative, two-footed but profligate winger who Luis Enrique coached into a prolific striker, has not started any of the five Club World Cup games.—
Liam Tharme,
New York Times,
8 July 2025
Adjective
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But a new study has found that such workplace jargon may be doing more harm than good—making employees feel confused, demoralized and less likely to collaborate with their coworkers.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Aug. 2025
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The octogenarian trying to reach a new generation of voters amid a demoralized Democratic Party is a stark juxtaposition.—
Jeremy Gorner,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dog-eat-dog.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dog-eat-dog. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.
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