Synonyms of bellicose

bellicose

adjective

ˈbe-li-ˌkōs 

as in aggressive

feeling or displaying eagerness to fight

bellicose hockey players who seem to spend more time fighting than playing

Synonyms & Similar Words

• aggressive
• militant
• hostile
• belligerent
• warlike
• contentious
• assaultive
• irritable
• confrontational
• pugnacious
• combative
• acidic
• ugly
• truculent
• quarrelsome
• feisty
• fierce
• agonistic
• savage
• argumentative
• vicious
• disputatious
• discordant
• gladiatorial
• chippy
• scrappy
• rude
• antagonistic
• on the warpath
• brawly
• petulant
• cross
• irascible
• peevish
• querulous
• fighting
• warring
• disagreeable
• bilious
• fretful
• ornery
• dyspeptic
• testy
• snappish
• choleric
• waspish
• surly
• fractious
• grouchy
• hot-tempered
• grumpy
• pettish
• bristly
• huffy
• crabby
• ill-tempered
• stroppy
• battling
• touchy
• bearish
• ill-natured
• ill-humored
• cranky
• prickly
• snappy

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• peaceful
• peaceable
• nonaggressive
• pacific
• conciliatory
• unwarlike
• friendly
• amiable
• pleasant
• benevolent
• nonbelligerent
• cordial
• genial
• gracious
• good-natured
• affable
• complaisant
• ingratiating
• amicable
• easygoing
• sociable
• uncontentious
• calm
• quiet
• kindhearted
• uncombative
• unbelligerent
• serene
• obliging
• antimilitarist
• benign
• mild
• tranquil
• gentle
• anti-imperialist
• relaxed
• good-tempered
• kindly

Synonym Chooser

How is the word bellicose distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of bellicose are belligerent, contentious, pugnacious, and quarrelsome. While all these words mean "having an aggressive or fighting attitude," bellicose suggests a disposition to fight.

a drunk in a bellicose mood

Where would belligerent be a reasonable alternative to bellicose?

In some situations, the words belligerent and bellicose are roughly equivalent. However, belligerent often implies being actually at war or engaged in hostilities.

belligerent nations

When could contentious be used to replace bellicose?

Although the words contentious and bellicose have much in common, contentious implies perverse and irritating fondness for arguing and quarreling.

wearied by his contentious disposition

When might pugnacious be a better fit than bellicose?

The words pugnacious and bellicose can be used in similar contexts, but pugnacious suggests a disposition that takes pleasure in personal combat.

a pugnacious gangster

When is quarrelsome a more appropriate choice than bellicose?

While the synonyms quarrelsome and bellicose are close in meaning, quarrelsome stresses an ill-natured readiness to fight without good cause.

the heat made us all quarrelsome

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of bellicose

Consider the People's Liberation Army's increasingly bellicose military and exercises in the Taiwan Strait. —Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025

The city’s residents tired of D’Annunzio’s reckless rule, and his bellicose posturing and expansionist maneuvers discomfited the Italian monarchy. —Richard Brody, New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2025

Majdi Fathi / NurPhoto / Getty Images Israel’s defense minister issued a bellicose statement, threatening that the military would once again begin evacuating civilians from combat zones. —Matt Bradley, NBC News, 19 Mar. 2025

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has accused the United States and South Korea of increasing tensions with their joint drills and Pyongyang often responds with bellicose threats. —Yoonjung Seo, CNN, 6 Mar. 2025