cǎn​liè

bitter

惨烈 (慘烈) cǎn​liè
bitter adjective
extremely violent, fierce, and resulting in heavy casualties or tragic suffering

The battle was exceptionally brutal, and both sides paid a heavy price.

Frequency

Movie subtitles
1.04 per million appears in 1% of films
Written text
3.98 per million

Sources

Definitions
CC-CEDICT