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Glite Dictionary
🤦 Clumsy or unskilled 🩸 Cruel or brutal
butcherly

butcherly

9.9
Very cruel and violent, causing many deaths
  • adjective
  • /ˈbʊtʃərli/
  • NSFW
translation icon : sanguinario
  • The film was criticized for its butcherly violence and lack of remorse.

Examples

  • The general's butcherly tactics left entire villages in ruins.

  • His butcherly actions during the conflict were condemned by the international community.

  • The butcherly tactics used in the war shocked everyone.

  • His butcherly methods during the competition were criticized by many.

  • The soldier described the butcherly tactics used in the battle, recounting the horrors he witnessed.

  • Her novel depicted a butcherly regime that ruled with fear and violence, leaving a trail of devastation.

  • The news coverage focused on the butcherly aftermath of the conflict, highlighting the brutality faced by civilians.

Synonyms

brutal
vsbutcherly
  • NSFW
229 4.8

Very cruel and violent, causing pain or suffering

adds stronger emphasis on extensive bloodshed and savage action
barbaric
vsbutcherly
61 6.3

Extremely cruel and violent with no respect for people

stresses bloody savagery and brutality rather than cultural primitiveness
gory
vsbutcherly
  • NSFW
21 6.5

Showing a lot of blood and violence, often in films or news reports

emphasizes the brutal, savage cause behind that bloody imagery
atrocious
vsbutcherly
12 7.6

Very cruel and shocking, causing great pain and fear

adds a specific focus on savage bloodshed rather than shock alone
barbarous
vsbutcherly
3 8.5

Being very cruel and causing great pain

is more focused on mass bloodshed alongside that extreme cruelty
blood-and-guts
vsbutcherly
  • NSFW
1 8.1

Showing very violent fighting and a lot of blood

is more about real bloody brutality rather than mere fierce enthusiasm
slaughterous
vsbutcherly
  • NSFW
1 9.9

Very violent and causing many deaths

is about savage cruelty as well as widespread bloody violence
sanguinary
vsbutcherly
  • NSFW
1 9.9

Involving a lot of killing and blood

is about violent acts causing bloodshed rather than mere desire
sanguineous
vsbutcherly
  • NSFW
1 9.9

Involving violent acts that cause blood and death

stresses active savage cruelty as well as the bloody results
bloody-minded
vsbutcherly
  • Offensive
1 9.2

Ready to use violence to hurt people

is broader, describing large bloody acts not only eagerness

Antonyms

humane
90 3.4

Showing kindness and care to people or animals to avoid suffering

How Brutal

murderous
  • NSFW
84 6.4
butcherly
  • NSFW
9.9
barbaric
61 6.3
cruel
522 2.7
harsh
289 2.8

Surface Forms

butcherly positive

Morphology

butcherly = butcher (transparent) = butcher + ly

Regular derivation from 'butcher' with the meaning extended metaphorically to 'brutal' or 'savage', which is straightforward for learners to infer.

Etymology

Butcherly comes from the word butcher, a person who 'cuts meat' or kills. That sharp, bloody image explains why butcherly can also mean very bloody or cruel.