Sanguinary

//ˈsæŋɡwɪnɛɹi// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A bloodthirsty person.
  2. 2
    The plant common yarrow, or herba sanguinaria (Achillea millefolium).
Adjective
  1. 1
    Involving bloodshed.

    "We may not propagate religion by wars, or by sanguinary persecutions to force consciences."

  2. 2
    Eager to shed blood; bloodthirsty.

    "Passion […] makes us brutal and sanguinary."

  3. 3
    Consisting of, covered with, or similar in appearance to blood.

    "I was once, I remember, called to a patient who had received a violent contusion in his tibia, by which the exterior cutis was lacerated, so that there was a profuse sanguinary discharge […]"

Adjective
  1. 1
    marked by eagerness to resort to violence and bloodshed wordnet
  2. 2
    accompanied by bloodshed wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
slaughterousbloodthirstygorybloodygoryyarrow

Example

More examples

"We may not propagate religion by wars, or by sanguinary persecutions to force consciences."

Etymology

From Middle English sanguinarie, from Latin sanguinārius.

Related phrases

sanguinary antachillea millefoliumcommon yarrow

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.