pugnacious

1 of 2

adjective

pug·​na·​cious ˌpəg-ˈnā-shəs 

: having a quarrelsome or combative nature : truculent

pugnaciously adverb

pugnaciousness noun

pugnacity

ˌpəg-ˈna-sə-tē 

noun

pugnacity

2 of 2

noun

pug·​nac·​i·​ty ˌpəgˈnasətē 

-sətē, 

-i

plural -es

: fighting instinct : ready response to challenge : courage, aggressiveness, truculence

some children … seem to be born fighting and never wish to repudiate their native pugnacity

—Margaret Hay

retain … the pugnacity developed in their struggle for full civil status

—William Petersen

Did you know?

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").

Synonyms of pugnacious

Adjective

• aggressive
• militant
• hostile
• contentious

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

Adjective

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

Adjective

He was known as a pugnacious investigator who had dismantled some of the country’s most violent gangs. —Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026

The narrator’s family has moved to an affluent part of Bengaluru, and their attempts to head off meddling outsiders are at times subtle, at times pugnacious, but always hilarious. —The Week Us, TheWeek, 27 May 2026

And his pugnacious talk sounds quite a bit more like American politics than sober debates about the future of technology. —Ben Smith, semafor.com, 18 May 2026

Ogwumike and Atkins join a hyper-speed offense anchored by pugnacious Kelsey Plum and rim-running Dearica Hamby. —Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 8 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

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

Noun

Latin pugnacitas, from pugnac-, pugnax + -itas -ity

First Known Use

Adjective

1642, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for pugnacious

• rapacious

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Kids Definition

pugnacious

adjective

pug·​na·​cious ˌpəg-ˈnā-shəs 

: showing a readiness to fight

pugnaciously adverb

pugnacity

-ˈnas-ət-ē 

noun