Definition of: sanguinary

(sang′gwə·ner′ē) adjective
1. Attended with bloodshed.
2. Prone to shed blood; bloodthirsty.
3. Consisting of blood. [<L sanguinarius <sanguis, -inis blood]
—san′gui·nar′i·ly adverb
—san′gui·nar′i·ness noun Synonyms: blood thirsty, bloody, cruel, inhuman, murderous, sanguine, savage. Sanguinary applies either to the act of shedding blood or to the spirit that delights in bloodshed; bloody applies more directly to the actual staining with blood; we may say either a sanguinary or a bloody battle, but a bloody (not a sanguinary) field. Sanguine is sometimes used in poetic or elevated style in the sense of bloody, as, a sanguine stain. See BLOODY.