internecine

adjective

in·​ter·​ne·​cine ˌin-tər-ˈne-ˌsēn 

-ˈnē-sᵊn,

-ˈnē-ˌsīn,

-nə-ˈsēn;

in-ˈtər-nə-ˌsēn

1

: of, relating to, or involving conflict within a group

bitter internecine feuds

2

: marked by slaughter : deadly

especially : mutually destructive

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 the early 17th century, 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

That intensifies the internecine struggle among Republicans over what to include in the package and how to contain the cost. —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 15 Nov. 2024

Character development builds across the series, which means big moments of discovery and internecine power struggles have more oomph as time goes on. —Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2024

After all the internecine squabbles, the true threat had revealed itself, just as in Game of Thrones. —Rowland Manthorpe, WIRED, 28 Aug. 2017

For the first time, Cox and Pope both saw that the internecine battle appeared coordinated. —Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica, 19 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1642, in the meaning defined at sense 2

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Kids Definition

internecine

adjective

in·​ter·​ne·​cine ˈint-ər-ˈnes-ˌēn 

-ˈnē-ˌsīn;

in-ˈtər-nə-ˌsēn

1

: marked by slaughter : deadly

2

: of, relating to, or involving conflict within a group

internecine feuds