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internecine

adjective
in·​ter·​ne·​cine | \ ËŒin-tÉ™r-ˈne-ËŒsÄ“n How to pronounce internecine (audio) , -ˈnÄ“-sᵊn, -ˈnÄ“-ËŒsÄ«n, -nÉ™-ˈsÄ“n; in-ˈtÉ™r-nÉ™-ËŒsÄ“n\

Definition of internecine

1 : marked by slaughter : deadly especially : mutually destructive
2 : of, relating to, or involving conflict within a group bitter internecine feuds
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Did You Know?

Internecine comes from the Latin internecinus ("fought to the death" or "destructive"), which traces to the verb "necare" ("to kill") and the prefix inter-. ("Inter-" usually means "between" or "mutual" in Latin, but it can also indicate the completion of an action.) Internecine meant "deadly" when it appeared in English in 1663, but when Samuel Johnson entered it in his dictionary almost a century later, he was apparently misled by "inter-" and defined the word as "endeavouring mutual destruction." Johnson's definition was carried into later dictionaries, and before long his sense was the dominant meaning of the word. "Internecine" developed the association with internal group conflict in the 20th century, and that's the most common sense today.

Examples of internecine in a Sentence

a political party that has suffered because of bitter internecine rivalries

Recent Examples on the Web

 This second civil war is taking place within the battle lines of an ongoing internecine struggle between northern rebels and the government. — Bobby Ghosh, The Denver Post, "Guest Commentary: The last thing Yemen needed was a second civil war," 24 Aug. 2019 This vacuum has, as is often the case with this White House, triggered fierce internecine scrapping among those vying for Mr. Trump’s ear. — Jonathan Martin, Alexander Burns And Maggie Haberman, New York Times, "Trump’s Role in Midterm Elections Roils Republicans," 28 Apr. 2018 And the internecine battle among macronutrients is only heating up. — Chase Purdy, Quartz, "The American diet is having an unhealthy love affair with protein," 20 July 2019 Most creators also admitted to some anxiety linked to the left’s predilection for internecine conflict. — Shaan Amin, The New Republic, "Can the Left Win YouTube?," 2 July 2019 Ms Nahles, a veteran of party intrigue, tried to soldier on in the face of internecine plots. — The Economist, "Andrea Nahles’s resignation leaves Germany’s government teetering," 8 June 2019 Sure, there are some fights – most of them internecine, as various X-Men start to doubt the leadership of Charles, a powerful clairvoyant who is revealed to have tinkered with Jean’s mind as a child. — The Washington Post, The Mercury News, "Review: If it’s the final X-Men chapter, ‘Dark Phoenix’ is appropriately funereal," 7 June 2019 Sure, there are some fights — most of them internecine, as various X-Men start to doubt the leadership of Charles, a powerful clairvoyant who is revealed to have tinkered with Jean’s mind as a child. — Michael O'sullivan, Twin Cities, "‘Dark Phoenix,’ X-Men’s probable swan song, is a dirge," 6 June 2019 The enemy, in this case, are the members of a single internecine family, vis-à-vis one another and their own sorry, self-defeating souls. — New York Times, "Review: Jeremy Irons and Lesley Manville Lead a Hard-Run ‘Long Day’s Journey’," 13 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'internecine.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of internecine

1642, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for internecine

Latin internecinus, from internecare to destroy, kill, from inter- + necare to kill, from nec-, nex violent death — more at noxious

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More Definitions for internecine

internecine

adjective
How to pronounce internecine (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of internecine

formal : occurring between members of the same country, group, or organization

See the full definition for internecine in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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More from Merriam-Webster on internecine

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with internecine

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for internecine

Spanish Central: Translation of internecine

Nglish: Translation of internecine for Spanish Speakers

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