Definition of belligerent
1 : waging war; specifically : belonging to or recognized as a state at war and protected by and subject to the laws of war
2 : inclined to or exhibiting assertiveness, hostility, or combativeness
belligerent
nounbelligerently
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Examples of belligerent in a Sentence
… it took very little alcohol to make him belligerent, and he became even more thuggish and incoherent when he threw in a few sleeping pills as well. —Christopher Hitchens, New York Times Book Review, 8 Oct. 2000
Coots are belligerent, territorial, quick-tempered birds. Nothing irritates a coot like another coot … —Kenneth Brower, Smithsonian, December 1998
Instead, we revered the guys on the streets, the thugs who were brazen and belligerent. They wore their hats backwards, left their belt buckles unfastened and shoelaces untied. —Nathan McCall, Washington Post, 25-31 Mar. 1991
She was a brigantine, a small two-masted vessel, refitted for belligerent action in the newly created American Navy. —Barbara W. Tuchman, The First Salute, 1988
He was drunk and belligerent.
the coach became quite belligerent and spit at an umpire after being thrown out of the game
Recent Examples of belligerent from the Web
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Speck Mellencamp was said to be uncooperative and belligerent with both officers and medics who were trying to treat him.
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Keith Payne, the director of operations for Mitigation Dynamics, said his training emphasizes toning down situations when patients become belligerent.
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The officer took the increasingly belligerent man home.
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One of the men got upset and became belligerent, screaming at the bouncer.
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At full throat, the new RS5 sounds pissed off, with fat blats on upshifts and a belligerent growl not far off the old V-8’s.
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The lyrics were perhaps Cash at his most cocky or belligerent – depending upon your definition.
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Directors opposed to the policy cited difficulties enforcing the rule, including the possibility of belligerent riders refusing to comply and causing delays or even violence.
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Most people today likely remember the line from the 1964 drama Becket, starring Richard Burton as the ill-fated religious figure, and Peter O’Toole as the belligerent monarch.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'belligerent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
belligerent, belligerents, and belligerence
Belligerent may function as either an adjective or a noun. As an adjective, it has two primary meanings, each of which corresponds to the two senses of its noun form.
The older sense (“waging war”) is generally used to refer to the actions or combatants of a nation at war, or to the nation itself ("belligerent operations"; "belligerent troops"; “the belligerent state”); it is paralleled by the earliest sense of the noun, “a nation at war” (“the belligerents assembled at the peace conference”). The second sense of belligerent (“inclined to or exhibiting assertiveness, hostility, or combativeness”), which usually applies to persons or animals, or to their attitudes or actions, likewise parallels the second sense of the noun (“a person taking part in a fight”). A related noun belligerence refers to “an aggressive or truculent attitude, atmosphere, or disposition” that can be either individual or global.
Origin and Etymology of belligerent
modification of Latin belligerant-, belligerans, present participle of belligerare to wage war, from belliger waging war, from bellum war + gerere to wage
Synonym Discussion of belligerent
Other Government and Politics Terms
BELLIGERENT Defined for English Language Learners
belligerent
playDefinition of belligerent for English Language Learners
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: angry and aggressive : feeling or showing readiness to fight
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: fighting a war : engaged in a war
BELLIGERENT Defined for Kids
Definition of belligerent for Students
1 : carrying on war belligerent nations
2 : feeling or showing readiness to fight belligerent remarks a belligerent stranger
Definition of belligerent for Students
1 : a nation at war
2 : a person taking part in a fight
Law Dictionary
Legal Definition of belligerent
1 : waging war : carrying on war; specifically : belonging to or recognized as an organized military power protected by and subject to the laws of war
2 : inclined to or exhibiting hostility or a combative temperament
belligerent
Legal Definition of belligerent
: a belligerent nation, state, or person
Learn More about belligerent
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See words that rhyme with belligerent Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for belligerent Spanish Central: Translation of belligerent Nglish: Translation of belligerent for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of belligerent for Arabic speakers
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