bloody
adjective (bloodier, bloodiest); adverb (bloody — rude, UK, Australia, NZ, Ireland)
Everyday
- Covered in blood or bleeding. tree →
- With a lot of killing and injury, such as a battle. tree →
- (rude, mild swearing, UK, Australia, NZ, Ireland) Used to add strong feeling or anger: "bloody hell", "it's bloody cold". tree →
In the lessons
In history and stories: "a bloody battle", "a bloody nose". In real speech in Britain and Australia, "bloody" is a mild swear word showing anger, surprise or emphasis. Not used politely, never in school writing. Phrases: a bloody nose, bloody hell, bloody good.
Examples
- He fell off his bike and got a bloody knee. tree →
- It was a long and bloody war. tree →
- (rude) Oh, bloody hell, I've missed the bus! tree →
- (rude) It's bloody freezing out here. tree →
- (rude) That was a bloody good goal! tree →
- The nurse cleaned the bloody cut. tree →
- (rude) Where's my bloody pencil gone? tree →
- The sheep was as yet all raw and bloody; but he liked it the better for that. tree →
Note
As a swear word it adds feeling, not meaning: "bloody cold" just means "very cold". It is rude in the UK, Australia, NZ and Ireland, and sounds old-fashioned or British in the USA. In a maths problem "a bloody 12 apples" is still 12 apples.
In Jewish tradition
Describes a city or house full of murder and violence, guilty of shedding blood.
Interpretation. The prophets use "bloody" for places and families guilty of killing. Shedding innocent blood is among the gravest sins in Jewish law.
Examples
- Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city! (Prophets EZK.24.9, JPS 1917) tree →
- Make the chain; for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence. (Prophets EZK.7.23, JPS 1917) tree →
- And the LORD said: 'It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he put to death the Gibeonites.' (Prophets 2SA.21.1, JPS 1917) tree →
Note
As a swear word it adds feeling, not meaning: "bloody cold" just means "very cold". It is rude in the UK, Australia, NZ and Ireland, and sounds old-fashioned or British in the USA. In a maths problem "a bloody 12 apples" is still 12 apples.
On Mova
- Trees and pragmatics of «bloody» in the school dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- «bloody» in the school dictionary on Mova free.
- Trees and pragmatics of «bloody» in the Judaism dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- «bloody» in the Judaism dictionary on Mova free.
This page in Markdown → https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/bloody/