as in murderous
eager for or marked by the shedding of blood, extreme violence, or killing
a movie so sanguinary that I covered my eyes during at least half of it
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Recent Examples of sanguinary
That battle would send Bonaparte on a dizzying journey up — and down and up and down — the greasy pole of French politics and military promotions, and it’s staged by Scott with sanguinary detail: Blood will spurt, spray and splatter throughout the battles that made him and undid him.
—
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2023
Of course, things don’t always go to plan, and apart from serving up varying portions of Reddick, Ian McShane and main course Keanu Reeves, the films are a sanguinary festival of fisticuffs, karate chops, spinning kicks, gunfire, stabbings, chases and exploding heads.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2023
But most of the works in this show of 28 artists come from some place closer to the end, where violent outcomes are expressed in sanguinary hues.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 26 May 2023
Last month, Uganda finally declared the country free of hemorrhagic fevers after three months of battling these seemingly omnipresent sanguinary viruses.
—Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 24 Nov. 2012
See All Example Sentences for sanguinary
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2023
Of course, things don’t always go to plan, and apart from serving up varying portions of Reddick, Ian McShane and main course Keanu Reeves, the films are a sanguinary festival of fisticuffs, karate chops, spinning kicks, gunfire, stabbings, chases and exploding heads.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2023
But most of the works in this show of 28 artists come from some place closer to the end, where violent outcomes are expressed in sanguinary hues.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 26 May 2023
Last month, Uganda finally declared the country free of hemorrhagic fevers after three months of battling these seemingly omnipresent sanguinary viruses.
—Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 24 Nov. 2012
See All Example Sentences for sanguinary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sanguinary
Adjective
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The section has also added French director Cardona’s No One Will Know, a huit clos in which the clients and bar staff of a shabby cafe outside Paris enter into a murderous pact when an elderly regular comes in and wins big in the lottery.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
23 Apr. 2025
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All this was condoned when not encouraged or even led by local and state officials, who funded murderous militias.—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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After watching in terror as a man violently attacked a police officer in an El Cajon fast-food restaurant, Iesha Booker checked for a pulse on the bloody, unconscious officer and yelled into the radio on his belt.—
Karen Kucher,
sandiegouniontribune.com,
19 July 2017
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Photos of the man in a hospital bed with a bloody mouth were also posted.—
Jonece Starr Dunigan,
AL.com,
14 July 2017
Adjective
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The 2023 grand marshal is former Arizona Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords, gravely wounded in a savage mass shooting in 2011 that also killed six people.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Dec. 2022
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As savage Arctic cold was getting ready to surge south across North America, vivid imagery based on data from weather models showed us what was going to happen.—
Tom Yulsman,
Discover Magazine,
27 Dec. 2022
Adjective
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But graduating in 2009 meant stepping into a brutal job market during the Great Recession.—
William Jones,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2025
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Andrews adds musical interludes, which don’t always work, and brutal jokes, which do.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Angry Birds: Climate Change and Avian Migration Olivia Box April 3, 2022 Temperature fluctuations throughout the years are affecting bird migration and mating, with sometimes violent results.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
22 Apr. 2025
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The ads target the state House Democrats over taxes and violent crime, as well as women’s and girl’s safety.—
Julia Manchester,
The Hill,
22 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sanguinary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sanguinary. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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