pugnacious

adjective

pug·​na·​cious ˌpəg-ˈnā-shəs How to pronounce pugnacious (audio)
: having a quarrelsome or combative nature : truculent
pugnaciously adverb
pugnaciousness noun
pugnacity noun

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Pugnacious individuals are often looking for a fight. While unpleasant, at least their fists are packing an etymological punch. Pugnacious comes from the Latin verb pugnare (meaning "to fight"), which in turn comes from the Latin word for "fist," pugnus. Another Latin word related to pugnus is pugil, meaning "boxer." Pugil is the source of our word pugilist, which means "fighter" and is used especially of professional boxers. Pugnare has also given us impugn ("to assail by words or arguments"), oppugn ("to fight against"), and repugnant (which is now used primarily in the sense of "exciting distaste or aversion," but which has also meant "characterized by contradictory opposition" and "hostile").

Choose the Right Synonym for pugnacious

belligerent, bellicose, pugnacious, quarrelsome, contentious mean having an aggressive or fighting attitude.

belligerent often implies being actually at war or engaged in hostilities.

belligerent nations

bellicose suggests a disposition to fight.

a drunk in a bellicose mood

pugnacious suggests a disposition that takes pleasure in personal combat.

a pugnacious gangster

quarrelsome stresses an ill-natured readiness to fight without good cause.

the heat made us all quarrelsome

contentious implies perverse and irritating fondness for arguing and quarreling.

wearied by his contentious disposition

Examples of pugnacious in a Sentence

That's a bass for you: pugnacious, adaptable and ever ready to demonstrate that the first order of business on any given day, drought or no drought, is eating anything that it can fit its big, powerful mouth around. Pete Bodo, New York Times, 22 Oct. 1995
Herz sees himself as a pugnacious sardine going up against rule-flouting sharks. Richard Wolkomir, Smithsonian, August 1992
He was a short man with heavy shoulders, a slight potbelly, puffy blue eyes, and a pugnacious expression. Alice Munro, New Yorker, 2 Jan. 1989
Podhoretz takes a more pugnacious and protesting stance, insisting on the word "seriousness" at all times and punctuating it with the word "moral". Christopher Hitchens, Times Literary Supplement, 30 May 1986
There's one pugnacious member on the committee who won't agree to anything. a movie reviewer who is spirited, even pugnacious, when defending her opinions
Recent Examples on the Web The Republika Srpska, led by a pugnacious Serb nationalist, Milorad Dodik, has repeatedly threatened to secede, a move that would risk setting off a new round of bloodshed. Andrew Higgins, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2024 Angelos, the pugnacious negotiator whose tenacity resulted in billions of dollars worth of class-action settlements for those harmed by asbestos and tobacco, gave no quarter in his dealings with Major League Baseball leaders. Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 1 Feb. 2024 Or Andy Cohen playing ringmaster to a universe of pugnacious Real Housewives. TIME, 31 Jan. 2024 Related Stories Rosen, an 80-year-old grandfather, is aware of his pugnacious intensity. Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Jan. 2024 For a brief time, that approach appeared to work — conservative voters were attracted to DeSantis because of his issue stands and his pugnacious attacks on liberals and culture-war targets, while moderates saw him as the best bet to beat Trump. Faith E. Pinho, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2024 Rogozin brought a pugnacious leadership style into the role, rubbing his Western allies the wrong way. Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 21 Aug. 2023 Under its pugnacious new president, Shawn Fain, the United Auto Workers struck the Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, the parent of Chrysler, Jeep and Ram — and won pay raises, improved benefits and numerous other concessions. Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 20 Dec. 2023 But for nearly three decades, Paramount’s fate has been controlled by the Redstone family, after its pugnacious patriarch, Sumner Redstone, won a bidding war for the studio in 1994. Benjamin Mullin, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pugnacious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin pugnac-, pugnax, from pugnare to fight — more at pungent

First Known Use

1642, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pugnacious was in 1642

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Dictionary Entries Near pugnacious

Cite this Entry

“Pugnacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pugnacious. Accessed 15 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

pugnacious

adjective
pug·​na·​cious ˌpəg-ˈnā-shəs How to pronounce pugnacious (audio)
: showing a readiness to fight
pugnaciously adverb
pugnacity noun

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