as in opportunistic
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Recent Examples of dog-eat-dog
Halton described himself as an explosive play-maker who can be a dog in a dog-eat-dog world.
—
Cam Inman, Mercury News, 25 Apr. 2026
People sometimes forget that World War II was a dog-eat-dog struggle for resources – oil and uranium but also dozens of other materials, everything from rubber to copper.
—Thomas Robertson, Fortune, 17 Feb. 2026
Rhyme schemes become secondary to dog-eat-dog dogma.
—Pitchfork, 10 Dec. 2025
Stability and predictability would be the exception, not the norm, in a dog-eat-dog world.
—Alexander Stubb, Foreign Affairs, 2 Dec. 2025
Joy radiates in the room, and a dog-eat-dog environment where people cut each other off is replaced by open collaboration.
—Barry Levitt, Time, 19 Sep. 2025
Each episode is built around a tense, dog-eat-dog hunt, where each player becomes either a Predator or Prey.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 2 July 2025
Ditch the dog-eat-dog mentality and figure out how to combine their apocalyptic gifts against a common enemy.
—Natalie Zutter
june 30, Literary Hub, 30 June 2025
The antics that ensue are amusing, but there isn’t much incisiveness in the increasingly farcical dog-eat-dog dénouement.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 4 June 2025
Cam Inman, Mercury News, 25 Apr. 2026
People sometimes forget that World War II was a dog-eat-dog struggle for resources – oil and uranium but also dozens of other materials, everything from rubber to copper.
—Thomas Robertson, Fortune, 17 Feb. 2026
Rhyme schemes become secondary to dog-eat-dog dogma.
—Pitchfork, 10 Dec. 2025
Stability and predictability would be the exception, not the norm, in a dog-eat-dog world.
—Alexander Stubb, Foreign Affairs, 2 Dec. 2025
Joy radiates in the room, and a dog-eat-dog environment where people cut each other off is replaced by open collaboration.
—Barry Levitt, Time, 19 Sep. 2025
Each episode is built around a tense, dog-eat-dog hunt, where each player becomes either a Predator or Prey.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 2 July 2025
Ditch the dog-eat-dog mentality and figure out how to combine their apocalyptic gifts against a common enemy.
—Natalie Zutter
june 30, Literary Hub, 30 June 2025
The antics that ensue are amusing, but there isn’t much incisiveness in the increasingly farcical dog-eat-dog dénouement.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 4 June 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dog-eat-dog
Adjective
-
As such, the opportunistic pathogen is most often found in people with HIV/AIDS, cancers, and diabetes, as well as those on powerful immunosuppressive drugs, like transplant patients.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
1 May 2026
-
Because it was built in an opportunistic, incremental manner with no foresight or intentionality.—
Eliza Strickland,
IEEE Spectrum,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Other methods of sneaking contraband into a prison include throwing it over a facility’s fence, coordinating through the mail and, in some cases, involving corrupt corrections officers.—
Taylor Galgano,
CNN Money,
3 May 2026
-
Assessor Gus Kramer stayed in office when a jury deadlocked on a civil grand jury accusation of willful or corrupt misconduct in office.—
East Bay Times editorial,
Mercury News,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Taken together, Beef seems to say all of these are representations of a culture so toxically individualistic and ambitious that its members can’t even fathom solidarity as an option to push back against a depraved ruling class.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
16 Apr. 2026
-
The Kino offices are a cesspool with wan lighting and depraved employees who screw each other in the stairwells, presumably for a few sweaty seconds of feeling alive.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Be classy, yet still maintain some of your degenerate tendencies.—
Joe Kinsey OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
25 Apr. 2026
-
German Expressionism and Surrealism, deemed degenerate by Nazis and Soviets alike, show up in stylized figuration, spatial distortion, and a dreamlike atmosphere.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
And this has lent Margot a debased sort of celebrity.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
6 Apr. 2026
-
But the influencer landscape is getting debased and splintered and a bit draining, even for Kylie.—
Nate Freeman,
Vanity Fair,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
But unlike, say, Sheridan, who is interested in offering the down-home, traditional values of the Southwest as a positive alternative to coastal-élite liberalism, there’s no real upside to the debauched, unbridled world that Levinson presents.—
Naomi Fry,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2026
-
The sun shines on the empty wine bottles and related detritus of last night’s debauched party.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
But profligate spending wasn’t the only way inflation weighed on bonds.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
20 Mar. 2026
-
This season on the road, Newcastle have been particularly profligate in possession.—
Chris Waugh,
New York Times,
5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Despite being outnumbered and outmaneuvered, Washington maintained order among his demoralized troops.—
Christopher Magra,
The Conversation,
10 Feb. 2026
-
The Democratic Party has funneled all the fury of its demoralized and humiliated voter base into a focal point centered on immigration policy.—
Torrey Snow,
Baltimore Sun,
21 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dog-eat-dog.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dog-eat-dog. Accessed 4 May. 2026.
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