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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sanguinary
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
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
See All Example Sentences for sanguinary
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
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
See All Example Sentences for sanguinary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sanguinary
Adjective
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Now single, Julie is living a happily quiet life after narrowly surviving two rounds of attacks by murderous fisherman, Ben Willis (Muse Watson), in the late ‘90s.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
14 July 2025
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Tony Goldwyn got some hate for his role as the film’s villain Tony Goldwyn recalled to the A.V. Club in 2014 that his role as the conniving, murderous Carl prompted a waitress to refuse to serve him.—
Drew Mackie,
People.com,
13 July 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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This created a growing population of vulnerable, undocumented workers in the 1960s and ’70s who increasingly faced brutal apprehensions.—
Jimmy Patino,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 July 2025
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Southerners quickly learn how to survive brutal summer temperatures.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
23 July 2025
Adjective
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The two got married, had a baby, and started a quiet life together far away from his violent past.—
Allison DeGrushe Published,
EW.com,
14 July 2025
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As droves of tourists continue to flock to Spain for European summer vacations, the nation’s emergency responders are dealing with the aftermath of a violent wave of flash flooding in nearly half of the country’s 50 provinces.—
Opheli Garcia Lawler,
Travel + Leisure,
14 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sanguinary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sanguinary. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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