bloody

English Online Dictionary. What means bloody‎? What does bloody mean?

English

Alternative forms

• bloudy (obsolete)
• bl**dy

Etymology 1

From Middle English blody, blodi, from Old English blōdiġ, blōdeġ (“bloody”), from Proto-West Germanic *blōdag, from Proto-Germanic *blōþagaz (“bloody”), equivalent to blood +‎ -y. Cognate with Dutch bloedig (“bloody”), German blutig (“bloody”), Danish blodig (“bloody”), Swedish blodig (“bloody”), Icelandic blóðugur (“bloody”). See Wikipedia for thoughts on sense evolution.

Pronunciation

• (British, US) IPA^(key): /ˈblʌ.diː/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈbɫɐ.diː/
• (India) IPA^(key): /ˈblɜ.ɖiː/
• Rhymes: -ʌdi

Adjective

bloody (comparative bloodier, superlative bloodiest)

1. Covered in blood.

   Synonyms: bleeding, bloodied, gory, sanguinolent
2. Characterised by bloodshed.
3. (informal, British, Ireland, Commonwealth, Hawaii, mildly vulgar) Used as an intensifier.
   • 1916 May 31, David Beatty during the Battle of Jutland:

     There seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today.

   • 2007, James MacFarlane, Avenge My Kin, Book 2: A Time of Testing, page 498

     “You bloody fool, I could′ve stabbed you in the heart,” David said in mock anger, and then smiled widely.
4. (dated) Badly behaved; unpleasant; beastly.

Usage notes

As an intensifier in Commonwealth usage, bloody is sometimes considered a swear word, and it was formerly considered one of the strongest profanities in British English (approximately between 1750 and 1920). Its offensiveness decreased significantly over the 20th century, and a 2021 survey by OFCOM found most members of the British public considered it mild and "unlikely to cause concern in most circumstances".

Synonyms

• (intensifier): bally, blasted, bleeding (chiefly Cockney), blinking, blooming, damn, damned, dang, darned, doggone, flaming, freaking, fricking, frigging, fucking, goddam / goddamn, goddamned, godforsaken (rare), rotten, wretched
• See also Thesaurus:damned

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

bloody (comparative more bloody, superlative most bloody)

1. (informal, Australia, British, India, Ireland, Newfoundland, New Zealand, South Africa, mildly vulgar) Used to express anger, annoyance, or shock, or for emphasis.

   Synonyms: bloody well, bally, blasted, bleeding, blooming

Translations

Verb

bloody (third-person singular simple present bloodies, present participle bloodying, simple past and past participle bloodied)

1. (transitive) To stain with blood.

2. (transitive) To draw blood from (one's opponent) in a fight.
3. (transitive) To demonstrably harm (the cause of an opponent). (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Translations

Etymology 2

Clipping of bloody mary

Noun

bloody (plural bloodies)

1. (informal) bloody mary

References

Anagrams

• old boy