bloody

Covered in gore

Bloody as an adjective means covered with or involving blood: a bloody bandage, a bloody battle, his hands were bloody.

Separately, bloody is a British intensifier and mild oath, adding emphasis to whatever follows: That's bloody brilliant.

I'm bloody exhausted.

Bloody hell expresses surprise or frustration.

Once considered quite offensive—enough to cause scandal when used onstage in Shaw's Pygmalion in 1914—the intensifier has softened and now ranks as mild profanity.

Its origin is disputed: possibly from by Our Lady, or from aristocratic rowdies called "bloods." Not bloody likely is emphatic refusal.

intensifier

damn

Mild expletive

blastedDestroyed or damned
bloomingProducing flowers now
flippingTurning over rapidly

ruddy · blinking · sodding · freaking · cursed · confounded · infernal · wretched · accursed · blimey

gore

gory

Full of bloodshed

grislyShockingly horrific
bloodstainedMarked with dried red
crimsonDeep purplish-red shade

hemorrhage · clot · carnage · massacre · slaughter · butchery · viscera · splatter · wound · gash

conflict

battle

Armed military engagement

warArmed struggle between groups
warfareArmed conflict between groups
combatArmed hostile engagement

skirmish · siege · conquest · revolution · uprising · coup · feud · vendetta · crusade · slaughter

injury

wound

Coiled, or an injury

gashDeep, ragged incision
cutSeverance or reduction
lacerationTorn, ragged wound

hemorrhage · clot · scab · bandage · gauze · tourniquet · suture · stitch · bruise · contusion

stain

spatter

Scatter in droplets

splatterScatter in drops
smearSpread or defame
splotchIrregular colored mark

streak · soak · spot · splashed · spilled · dripping · pooled · caked · dried · crusted

bloody

damn

gory

battle

wound

spatter

bloody

Opposites

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