bloodletting

noun

blood·​let·​ting ˈbləd-ˌle-tiŋ How to pronounce bloodletting (audio)
1
2
3
: elimination of personnel or resources
4
: severe criticism
Take the English, the undisputed champions at verbal bloodletting.Bill Ott
: a harsh verbal or written attack
But what makes "Cinderella & Company" more than just a book-length bloodletting is Hoelterhoff's unexpected sympathy for most of the singers about whom she writes.Terry Teachout

Examples of bloodletting in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Crisis, Redux Thank goodness, then, for Bayern Munich, which appears to be gearing up for one of its increasingly frequent — and never less than entertaining — bloodlettings. Rory Smith, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024 The rituals and testifying in Feria are full of bloodlettings, skin flayings, and people who were supposedly dead returning to their physical forms. EW.com, 18 Oct. 2023 The holiday rush has turned into the New Year’s bloodletting at a pair of major retailers. Chris Morris, Fortune, 19 Jan. 2024 Senseless bloodletting has plenty of competition here. John L. Smith, Rolling Stone, 25 Jan. 2024 India’s founding fathers took great pains to keep the state at arm’s length from religion, seeing it as crucial to the country’s cohesion after the communal bloodletting wrought by the 1947 partition that cleaved Pakistan from India. Hari Kumar Atul Loke, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2024 Putin just might seize the opportunity to stanch the bloodletting and try to bring Russia in from the cold. Richard Haass and Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 17 Nov. 2023 Also, California’s Democratic Party will avoid unnecessary bloodletting. George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2023 None was willing to entertain the idea that anyone but Israel was at fault for the Gaza bloodletting. Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 18 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bloodletting.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bloodletting was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near bloodletting

Cite this Entry

“Bloodletting.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bloodletting. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bloodletting

noun
blood·​let·​ting ˈbləd-ˌlet-iŋ How to pronounce bloodletting (audio)
1
: the opening of a vein for the purpose of drawing blood
2

Medical Definition

bloodletting

noun
blood·​let·​ting -ˌlet-iŋ How to pronounce bloodletting (audio)

More from Merriam-Webster on bloodletting

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