carnage

Definitions

carn (flesh) + -age (a mass or collective of) = literally 'a heap of flesh' — and this flesh is dead. The word locked onto the image of bodies destroyed in great numbers, giving us 'slaughter, massacre.' It is now also used loosely for any scene of total wreckage.

Common Collocations

• 1.senseless carnage无谓的屠杀
• 2.bloody carnage血腥的杀戮
• 3.scene of carnage惨烈的场面
• 4.wreak carnage造成浩劫

Example Sentences

• 1.

  Survivors described the carnage left behind by the bombing.

• 2.

  The general was sickened by the carnage on the battlefield.

• 3.

  After the storm, the coastline was a scene of utter carnage.

Easily Confused

carnage vs slaughter vs massacre — All mean mass killing, but carnage emphasizes the bloody aftermath and the bodies (and is freely used figuratively for any wreckage). Massacre stresses a deliberate, one-sided killing event. Slaughter is the broadest and also literally means butchering animals for meat. The aftermath you see → carnage; the act of mass killing → massacre/slaughter.