Carnage
/ˈkɑːrnɪdʒ/
nounIntermediate📊CommonGeneral
1 meaning1 question
Definitions
1
The slaughter of a large number of people; great destruction of life.
/ˈkɑːrnɪdʒ/
nounnegativeIntermediate
General
The killing of a large number of people.
The aftermath of the battle revealed the shocking carnage.
💡 Simply: Lots of death and destruction.
More Examples
2
The news report showed images of the carnage caused by the hurricane.
How It's Used
War
"The battlefield was a scene of utter carnage."
Accident Reporting
"The accident report detailed the horrific carnage."
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
From Old French *carnage, from *charnier ('charnel house, place of corpses'), ultimately from Old French chair ('flesh').
The word has been used to describe the violent aftermath of battles and other large-scale conflicts for centuries.
Memory tip
Imagine a 'car' filled with 'nag'ging injuries and dead.
Word Origin
LanguageOld French
Original meaning
"charnel house (place of corpses)"
utter carnagehorrific carnagescene of carnage
Common misspellings
carnageecarnaige
Practice
Usage
10%Spoken
90%Written