casualty

/ˈkæʒ(əw)əlti/

/ˈkæʒwəlti/

Other forms: casualties

In wartime, you'll hear the word casualty used often for someone killed or injured. But casualty can also refer to deaths or injuries suffered in an accident or some other unfortunate event.

The term "casualties of war" has been around for a while and refers to the ugly downside of military victory. Anyone who loses life or limb, either in the fighting or as a civilian, is called a casualty. You can also use this word figuratively: if a local elementary school loses funding for their art classes and after-school activities, you can say that the students are casualties of budget cuts.

Definitions of casualty

1. noun

   someone injured or killed in an accident
   synonyms: injured party

   type of:

   victim

   an unfortunate person who suffers from some adverse circumstance
2. noun

   someone injured or killed or captured or missing in a military engagement
   type of:

   victim

   an unfortunate person who suffers from some adverse circumstance
3. noun

   an accident that causes someone to die
   synonyms: fatal accident

   types:

   collateral damage

   (euphemism) inadvertent casualties and destruction inflicted on civilians in the course of military operations

   type of:

   accident

   an unfortunate mishap; especially one causing damage or injury

   fatality, human death

   a death resulting from an accident or a disaster
4. noun

   a decrease of military personnel or equipment
   types:

   damage, equipment casualty

   loss of military equipment

   loss, personnel casualty

   military personnel lost by death or capture

   battle damage, combat casualty

   loss of military equipment in battle

   operational casualty, operational damage

   loss of military equipment in field operations

   combat injury, injury, wound

   a casualty to military personnel resulting from combat

   sacrifice

   personnel that are sacrificed (e.g., surrendered or lost in order to gain an objective)

   type of:

   decrease, drop-off, lessening

   a change downward