bloody

Formsbloodier, bloodiest

Formsbloodies, bloodying, bloodied

1. 1
   violentadjective

   Marked by bloodshed, the wounding or killing of people.

   The bloody civil war left the country divided for a generation.

   It was one of the bloodiest weeks of the revolution.

   UsageForms bloodier and bloodiest, as in one of the bloodiest weeks of the war.

   Similarviolent, brutal, savage, murderous

   Oppositepeaceful, bloodless

   Note

   The sense reaches from events to the feelings behind them: battles and civil wars are bloody, and so, in Shakespeare's Othello, is a "bloody passion" that shakes the frame, meaning a murderous one. Frederick Douglass uses it for the bloody scenes of plantation life. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Shakespeare's Othello contains “bloody passion” describing a murderous feeling; Desdemona addresses Othello in Act 5, scene 2. folger.edu
   • Frederick Douglass describes bloody scenes on a plantation in his Narrative. en.wikisource.org
2. 2
   red all overadjective

   Covered in blood.

   He came off the field pressing a bloody towel to his forehead.

   The detectives found a knife, still bloody, under the kitchen sink.

   UsageCommon in a bloody nose, one that is bleeding.

   Similarbloodied, gory, bleeding

   Note

   The word goes back to Old English blōdiġ, built like blood plus -y, and here it still means exactly that, as when Shakespeare's lion stains a mantle "with bloody mouth". Where the word is also a swearword, context protects this meaning: a bloody stump after an accident is literal, not the swearing intensifier.

3. 3
   adjectivemildly vulgardialectalBritishCommonwealthHawaiiIreland

   Used before a noun as an intensifier, to give force or emphasis to what is said.

   I've lost my bloody keys again, and the flat's locked.

   Whoever got the boiler working before the weekend is a bloody genius.

   Similardamn, damned, darn, darned, blasted

   Note

   It adds heat rather than meaning, usually irritation, as in David Beatty's complaint at the Battle of Jutland in 1916 that something was wrong with "our bloody ships today". Speakers stack it, as a character does in Robert Jordan's Lord of Chaos (1994), and it stays out of formal writing.

4. 4
   very (swearing)adverbmildly vulgardialectalAustraliaBritishIndiaIrelandNew ZealandNewfoundlandSouth Africa

   Used to express anger, annoyance, or shock, or simply for emphasis, typically before an adjective or a verb.

   You were bloody lucky the brakes held on that hill.

   If he won't fix it, I'll bloody well do it myself.

   UsageCommon combinations include bloody good, not bloody likely, and bloody well before a verb.

   Similarbleeding, blooming, blasted

   Note

   Bernard Shaw put not bloody likely into Pygmalion in 1912, and the stage direction after the line reads simply "Sensation". Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Bernard Shaw included not bloody likely in Pygmalion. gutenberg.org
   • 1912 is the composition date. Under the requested first-book-edition rule, use 1916; magazine publication preceded it in 1914. archive.org
   • The stage direction immediately following the expression is Sensation. archive.org
5. 5
   vodka drinknouncolloquialabbreviationellipsis

   Short for bloody mary: a cocktail of vodka and tomato juice, usually seasoned with Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, or horseradish.

   She ordered a bloody with extra horseradish at brunch.

   The bartender makes a mean bloody, spicy and loaded with celery salt.

   UsageCounts like any drink: a bloody, two bloodies.

6. 6
   verbtransitive

   To make someone bleed, as in a fight, or to stain something with blood.

   The challenger bloodied the champion's nose in the second round.

   Neither boxer could bloody the other until the final round.

   UsageOften with a body part: bloody someone's nose or lip.

Showing meanings only. Show all 8