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Don't War Over the Meaning of Bellicose
Since bellicose describes an attitude that hopes for actual war, the word is generally applied to nations and their leaders. In the 20th century, it was commonly used to describe such figures as Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm, Italy's Benito Mussolini, and Japan's General Tojo, leaders who believed their countries had everything to gain by starting wars. The international relations of a nation with a bellicose foreign policy tend to be stormy and difficult, and bellicosity usually makes the rest of the world very uneasy.
Examples of bellicose in a Sentence
New Yorker, 24 June 1985
For three centuries Viking raiders haunted western Europe. The bellicose Charlemagne himself felt menaced.
—Daniel J. Boorstin, The Discoverers, 1983
His evident calm, which always infuriated the opposition, must have irritated the bellicose colonel to a point at which he could control himself no longer.
—Michael Pearson, Those Damned Rebels, 1972
bellicose hockey players who seem to spend more time fighting than playing
Howard Lafranchi,
Christian Science Monitor,
27 June 2026
Despite the bellicose nature of his first album, the 36-year-old singer is more lover than fighter.
—
Andrea Flores,
Los Angeles Times,
23 June 2026
But the Taiwanese government has pointed out Beijing’s increasingly bellicose behavior in the Taiwan Strait, including regular military operations around Taiwan in the past several years.
—
ABC News,
12 June 2026
Tate’s most bellicose advocate was Joseph McBride, a lawyer who’d made his name defending several January 6th rioters.
—
Heidi Blake,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for bellicose
Cite this Entry
“Bellicose.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bellicose. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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