fratricidal

[ fra-tri-sahyd-l ]

adjective

1. being or relating to the act of killing one’s brother or a member of one’s own tribe or group:

   The Mongol Empire was done in by its recurrent fratricidal infighting.

Word History and Origins

Origin of fratricidal¹

First recorded in 1665–75; fratricid(e) ( def ) + -al ¹( def )

Example Sentences

It was as if Brutus and Cassius, after disposing of Julius Caesar, had avoided fratricidal warfare and instead linked arms for a week-long party amid dance hits of the early Roman Republic and manufactured rumors that Cleopatra might show up at any moment.

From Salon

Speaking of that fratricidal slaughter that cost more than half a million American lives, Trump said: “It was, I don’t know, it was just different. I just find it — I’m so attracted to seeing it.”

From Salon

“This is a fratricidal war, so I doubly did not want to participate in it,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

“Since all people are brothers, then any war, any military conflict, one way or another becomes fratricidal.”

From Seattle Times

The year before Mr. Nemtsov died, almost a decade ago, as the Russian-instigated fighting in the Donbas region of Ukraine began, he wrote on his Facebook page: “Putin has declared war on Ukraine. This is a fratricidal war. Russia and Ukraine will pay a high price for the bloody insanity of this mentally unstable secret-police agent. Young men will die on both sides. There will be inconsolable mothers and sisters.”

From New York Times