English Reference
Adjective

bloodthirsty

adj.
C1 Advanced US /ˈbɫədˌθɝsti/ UK /blˈʌdθɜːsti/ blood·thirsty

adj.wanting to see or do violence and bloodshed. You use this to describe someone who enjoys watching or causing fights and injuries.

adj.characterised by a desire for or enjoyment of violence and bloodshed. Often used to describe a person's temperament or a specific event's atmosphere.


SIMPLE

The crowd was bloodthirsty and cheered loudly for the fight.

CONTEXTUAL

The movie's graphic violence was criticized as bloodthirsty and unnecessary for the plot.

COMPLEX

The general's reputation as a bloodthirsty leader preceded him, as his previous campaigns were marked by a brutal disregard for civilian safety.

To “rile up American men,” as Baer puts it in an interview, they were characterized as heartless, bloodthirsty monsters.

Smithsonian Magazine· 13 Aug 2026

From blood + thirsty. Cognate with West Frisian bloeddorstich (“bloodthirsty”), Dutch bloeddorstig (“bloodthirsty”), German blutdürstig (“bloodthirsty”), Danish blodtørstig (“bloodthirsty”), Swedish blodtörstig (“bloodthristy”), Norwegian blodtørstig (“bloodthirsty”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated