bloody

adj

1. Covered in blood.

   “All that remained of his right hand after the accident was a bloody stump.”

   “And, as she fled, her mantle she did fall, / Which Lion vile with bloody mouth did stain.”

   “O Antony! Begge not your death of vs: / Though now we muſt appeare bloody and cruell, / As by our hands, and this our preſent Acte / You ſee we do: Yet ſee you but our hands, / And this, the bleeding buſineſſe they haue done:”

2. Characterised by bloodshed.

   “There have been bloody battles between the two tribes.”

   “Some bloody paſſion ſhakes your very Frame:”

   “I had therefore been, until now, out of the way of the bloody scenes that often occurred on the plantation.”

   “The story of Elizabeth Bathory is one of the bloodiest in history.”

   “These disaffected diplomats said they would like to see the US threaten future arms sales to Israel to help curtail the bloody fighting, but the proposed F-15 and precision-guided munitions sales indicate that the administration is not planning to restrict military assistance any time soon.”

3. (British, Commonwealth, Hawaii, Ireland, informal, mildly, vulgar)Used as an intensifier.

   “Traffic in central London was a bloody mess this morning.”

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

   “Try to keep those bloody women's bloody heads on their bloody shoulders by somehow helping them make this whole mad impossible scheme actually work.”

   “You are not to go asking anyone about who killed that bloody dog.”

   ““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.

   “Come to apologize to Charles. I was bloody to him and he's my guest. He's my guest and my only friend and I was bloody to him.”

adv

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

   “Walk! Not bloody likely. [Sensation]. I am going in a taxi. [She goes out].”

   “"Dice are no bloody good," David said.”

verb

1. (transitive)To stain with blood.

   “The butcher often bloodied his apron in the course of his work.”

2. (transitive)To draw blood from (one's opponent) in a fight.
3. (transitive)To demonstrably harm (the cause of an opponent).

noun

1. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, informal)Ellipsis of bloody mary.