adj · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˌɪntəˈniːsaɪn/
Received-Pronunciation:/-sɪn/
US:/ˌɪntɚˈnɛsin/
US:/ˌɪntɚˈnisin/
US:/ˌɪntɚˈnɛsən/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -iːn
CMU ARPABET:IH2 N T ER1 N AH0 S IY2 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Mutually destructive; most often applied to warfare.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Examples
Internecine strife in Gaza claimed its most senior victim yesterday when militants assassinated one of the most hated security chiefs there.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
Characterized by struggle within a group, usually applied to an ethnic or familial relationship.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Examples
The Mongol people were plagued by internecine conflict until Genghis Khan unified them by focusing their aggression outwards on other peoples.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
adjective satellite
Meaning 3
characterized by bloodshed and carnage for both sides
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
internecine war
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
adjective satellite
Meaning 4
(of conflict) within a group or organization
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
an internecine feud among proxy holders
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin internecīnus (“deadly”), from internecium (“a massacre, bloodbath; an eradication”) + -īnus. In Latin, the sememe 'between' was here not expressed by the prefix, it instead either had a somewhat emphatic meaning or meant "down, under", comparable to its use in other Latin terms related to death: see interficiō and intereō. The English current sense is thus a reanalysis of the Latin through English inter-.
Across languages
Translations
31 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Chinese Mandarin:
自相殘殺的 /自相残杀的
(zìxiāngcánshā de)
— mutually destructive
Chinese Mandarin:
兩敗俱傷的 /两败俱伤的
(liǎngbàijùshāng de)
— mutually destructive
