carnage

noun

car·​nage ˈkär-nij 

1

: the flesh of slain animals or humans

a multitude of dogs came to feast on the carnage

—T. B. Macaulay

2

: great and usually bloody slaughter or injury (as in battle)

the carnage of war

Synonyms

• massacre
• slaughter

Examples of carnage in a Sentence

Reporters described the highway accident as a scene of carnage.

the appalling carnage in that war-torn country requires that the outside world intervene

Recent Examples on the Web

Directed by genre-hopping Ben Wheatley and written by John Wick creator Derek Kolstad from a story hatched by Kolstad and Odenkirk, the subversive Western is a take-no-prisoners gore fest that peppers all the visceral carnage with an equal sprinkling of dry wit. —Michael Rechtshaffen, HollywoodReporter, 15 Sep. 2025

So many Eagles contributed to the Super Bowl carnage, including Brown, who caught a touchdown pass late in the second quarter to put Philly up 24-0. —Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 12 Sep. 2025

After the carnage Putin continues to visit on Ukraine, these incursions cannot be ignored. —Robert Birsel, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025

Basically the carnage is all nonstop from this point on, a festival of killing in all kinds of nifty ways. —Pete Hammond, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French, from Medieval Latin carnaticum tribute consisting of animals or meat, from Latin carn-, caro — see carnal

First Known Use

1614, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

carnage

noun

car·​nage ˈkär-nij 

: great destruction of life (as in battle) : slaughter