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bad blood

 - 4 dictionary results

bad blood

–noun
unfriendly or hostile relations; enmity; hostility; animosity: When the territory was being settled there was bad blood between the farmers and the ranchers.

Origin:
1815–25
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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bad blood  
n.  Enmity or bitterness among individuals or groups of people.
blood   (blŭd)   
n.  
    1. The fluid consisting of plasma, blood cells, and platelets that is circulated by the heart through the vertebrate vascular system, carrying oxygen and nutrients to and waste materials away from all body tissues.

    2. A functionally similar fluid in animals other than vertebrates.

    3. The juice or sap of certain plants.

    4. Descent from a common ancestor; parental lineage.

    5. Family relationship; kinship.

    6. Descent from noble or royal lineage: a princess of the blood.

    7. Recorded descent from purebred stock.

    8. National or racial ancestry.

  1. A vital or animating force; lifeblood.

  2. One of the four humors of ancient and medieval physiology, identified with the blood found in blood vessels, and thought to cause cheerfulness.

  3. Bloodshed; murder.

  4. Temperament or disposition: a person of hot blood and fiery temper.

    1. Descent from a common ancestor; parental lineage.

    2. Family relationship; kinship.

    3. Descent from noble or royal lineage: a princess of the blood.

    4. Recorded descent from purebred stock.

    5. National or racial ancestry.

  5. A dandy.

tr.v.   blood·ed, blood·ing, bloods
  1. To give (a hunting dog) its first taste of blood.

    1. To subject (troops) to experience under fire: "The measure of an army is not known until it has been blooded" (Tom Clancy).

    2. To initiate by subjecting to an unpleasant or difficult experience.


[Middle English blod, from Old English blōd; see bhel-3 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Idioms & Phrases

bad blood

Anger or hostility between persons or groups, as in There's been bad blood between the two families for years. This term is based on the old association with blood and emotion, particularly anger. Versions such as ill blood preceded it; Charles Lamb was among the first to use the idiom in its current form in an 1823 essay.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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