verb
definition
To bleed; let blood; phlebotomise.
noun
definition
The archaic practice of treating illness by removing some blood, believed to be tainted, from the stricken person.
synonyms
definition
(by extension) The diminishment of any resource with the hope that this will lead to a positive effect.
example
Yet another round of corporate bloodletting.
definition
A circumstance, such as a battle, where a large amount of blood is likely to be spilled through violence.
Examples of bloodletting in a Sentence
The "house for bloodletting and purging" adjoins it on the west (U).
They believe Iraq will be riven by ethnic bloodletting, mob violence and mass looting.
As the film gets increasingly violent and intense, the director maintains a dry, sardonic tone that makes the gruesome bloodletting almost comical.
And all the signs are that the party's warring factions are gearing up for another round of internal bloodletting.
Apparently the historic Calvia dinner transpired without bloodletting, or at least no mayhem was reported by Cynthia after her lengthy conversation ended.
Certainly some of the medical practices of the ancient world, such as bloodletting and the use of leeches, seem to us at least misguided and at worst, barbaric.