Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective sanguinary contrast with its synonyms?

The words bloody and gory are common synonyms of sanguinary. While all three words mean "affected by or involving the shedding of blood," sanguinary applies especially to something attended by, or someone inclined to, bloodshed.

the Civil War was America's most sanguinary conflict

When is bloody a more appropriate choice than sanguinary?

The synonyms bloody and sanguinary are sometimes interchangeable, but bloody is applied especially to things that are actually covered with blood or are made up of blood.

bloody hands

When is it sensible to use gory instead of sanguinary?

The words gory and sanguinary can be used in similar contexts, but gory suggests a profusion of blood and slaughter.

exceptionally gory, even for a horror movie

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 sanguinary Mass shootings scarcely register anymore, unless the death toll reaches a certain sanguinary level. Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2024 Michael Modafferi Lawmakers and order Yonkers: How many more innocents will be murdered, mugged and mauled by sanguinary, recidivist thugs and mentally ill individuals, none of whom belong unfettered on the streets of New York City and state, before the left-wing Democrats restore law and order? Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 27 Mar. 2024 An appeal to force was an admission of failure, and the pride of the new nation was the sense of overcoming the sanguinary reflexes of the old world. TIME, 31 Jan. 2024 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 See All Example Sentences for sanguinary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sanguinary
Adjective
  • Their characters try to help when the Fisherman, a hook-wielding murderous menace in a rain slicker, returns to haunt yet another group of youngsters with no respect for road safety.
    Brian Truitt, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Halloween 5 presents more supernatural elements than previous Halloween films, with Jamie having a telepathic connection to her murderous uncle, and Michael being cursed and controlled by a cult to kill his family members.
    Jessica Sager, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Fox's nails may have been dipped in blood (red nail polish), but the rest of her look was soft and sweet—a fun contrast against the bloody gown.
    Kara Nesvig, Allure, 27 Oct. 2025
  • His trial lasted seven weeks and included testimonies from some of his former hit men, including John Veasey, who helped to prove that Stanfa had directed a bloody campaign against Merlino, per UPI.
    Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Rader’s double life as a doting father and savage murderer is the subject of the new Netflix documentary My Father, the BTK Killer, based on his daughter Kerri Rawson’s search to make sense of the secret double life her father hid from his family.
    Johnny Dodd, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
  • The ensuing carnage was swift and savage.
    Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Simulations take place between October and March in brutal winter conditions, when the Gobi freezes solid.
    Rosanna Philpott, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
  • This early modern period would set the foundations of the rise of the transatlantic slave trade and a new form of slavery—hereditary racial slavery—that would be central to the creation of the racial-caste hierarchy and to the rise of Britain’s wealthy and brutal Caribbean slave empire.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Once again, the debate in the book is not over whether or not people should be violent.
    Fiction Non Fiction, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
  • As a result, many legends are connected to its violent past, and its dungeon, in particular, is said to be haunted by tortured souls.
    Sophie Friedman, AFAR Media, 22 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Sanguinary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sanguinary. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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