bloodlust

American

[bluhd-luhst] / ˈblʌdˌlʌst /

Or blood lust

noun

eagerness to engage in violence or bloodshed.

During the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror, the bloodlust of the mob raged unabated till it achieved a complete upheaval of French society.

Etymology

Origin of bloodlust

First recorded in 1845–50; blood ( def. ) + lust ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

On the other hand, football runs deep into those most American of traits: tradition, competition and, yes, some bloodlust too.

From The Wall Street Journal

Niles caught the scent of her bloodlust, she says at a public reading, “and like some dark angel, made manifest a wish too horrible to name.”

From Salon

That, plus an absence of “winning is everything” bloodlust, makes him easy to root for.

From Salon

Pinochet’s own supernatural bloodlust isn’t what it used to be, and immortality itself has lost its appeal: “Why would I want to keep on living,” he asks, “in a country where people hate me?”

From Los Angeles Times

So I think that “bloodlust” was just the desire to feel something.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023