Question

" . . internecine war; the red republicans on the one hand, and the black imperialists on the other." Write the dictionary definition for the word internecine to fit this context.

Answer 1

 I think the dictionary defineition would be destructive by both sides.

Answer 2

The correct answer to this open question is the following.

The dictionary definition for the word internecine to fit this context is the following.

According to Merriam-Webster., the word Internecine means mutual destructive. Deadly.

So in this case, the context of the excerpt means that both sides, Red Republicans and Black imperialists were fighting each other in a war that only hurt them equally with no benefit at all. This term is used when a group of people or two factions are fighting each other with no real winners and so much harm.