carnage

noun

car·nage ˈkär-nij

Synonyms of carnage

: the flesh of slain animals or humans

… a multitude of dogs came to feast on the carnage.—T. B. Macaulay

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

the carnage of war

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

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.

Some people experienced them as a purely optical means of aesthetic transport; others found in them tactile accumulations of crust, carnage, and debris. — Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2026 The company's high-stakes Build conference in early June wasn't enough to lift the stock, and that month would bring widespread carnage across the broader software stock universe. — Zev Fima, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026 There’s a slickness to the carnage that rubs uncomfortably against the film’s humanist ethos, rendering artificial (for all Shen Teng’s trembling and mouth-contorting labors) the horrific tragedies that befall its characters. — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026 International outrage over the carnage in Gaza, meanwhile, has largely subsided, with many countries preferring a failing peace process to none at all. — Khaled Elgindy, Foreign Affairs, 8 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for carnage

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

Time Traveler

The first known use of carnage was in 1614

See more words from the same year

Browse Nearby Words

Carnacian

carnage

carnal

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Carnage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carnage. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

carnage

noun

car·nage ˈkär-nij

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

carnage

noun

Synonyms of carnage

Examples of carnage in a Sentence

Word History

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

compunction

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes