SANGUINARY Synonyms: 92 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

sanguinary

adjective

ˈsaŋ-gwə-ˌner-ē

Definition of sanguinary

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 In a series of sanguinary close-ups, Elvira takes a cleaver to her digits, first slicing them and then fully dismembering them. — Andrew McGowan, Variety, 23 Dec. 2025 The film, documenting the intense, sanguinary attempt by Ukrainian soldiers to retake a village seized by Russian invaders, won Chernov the directing award for World Cinema Documentary at Sundance. — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 7 July 2025 Mass shootings scarcely register anymore, unless the death toll reaches a certain sanguinary level. — Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 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 See All Example Sentences for sanguinary

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sanguinary

Adjective

The celebs are competing to weed out the murderous Traitors among them for a cash prize of £100,000 for a charity of their choice in Ardross Castle in the Highlands.

— Mya Copeland, Variety, 2 Oct. 2026
The Sparrows’ survival under Nazi questioning depended on the Hungarians handing them over to law-respecting German military officers, rather than the murderous Gestapo.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of murderous

Adjective

His interview with O’Donnell relates his story—a faulty parachute, a tough crash, a long bloody hike, and survival until he was rescued by an American plane—in a genuinely moving way.

— Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
Shigella bacteria cause shigellosis, an illness characterized by severe diarrhea, that is sometimes bloody or prolonged, and fever.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of bloody

Adjective

Onscreen, this ethnic conflict allowed Ken-san and other kimonoed gangsters to be presented as pure, sincere, patriotic heroes fighting for traditional Japanese values against savage aliens as well as local, gun-toting yakuza.

— Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
The Indian pilot who fought off a savage attack by his copilot and helped prevent an apparent hijack of a Flydubai plane heading to Israel with more than 170 people on board is being hailed as a hero.

— Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of savage

Adjective

That, in turn, reveals a family history of violent gravitational instability caused by events like giant collisions and planetary ejections.

— Robert Lea, Space.com, 14 Oct. 2026
The show, which can certainly be tense, spends more time on being funny than violent.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of violent

Browse Nearby Words

sang (out)

sanguinary

sanguine

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Sanguinary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sanguinary. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of sanguinary

adjective

Synonym Chooser

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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