as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
the player became quite belligerent and was thrown out of the game
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in combatant
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of belligerent
H.a. Hellyer, Time, 30 June 2025
From the beginning, Bruce is belligerent, taking any opportunity to criticize everyone, often refusing to join meals.
—Oline H. Cogdill, Sun Sentinel, 2 July 2025
The pro-Palestine messaging ignores the fact that a nuclear-armed Iran would be far more belligerent and dangerous than the regime already has been for the past three decades.
—Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, The Atlantic, 26 June 2025
An increasingly belligerent North Korea has forged ahead with its weapons development, including nuclear warheads.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for belligerent
Noun
But this cynicism has evolved into a pragmatic rejection of war—especially one at the behest of a belligerent Israel and a complicit Washington.
—H.a. Hellyer, Time, 30 June 2025
From the beginning, Bruce is belligerent, taking any opportunity to criticize everyone, often refusing to join meals.
—Oline H. Cogdill, Sun Sentinel, 2 July 2025
The pro-Palestine messaging ignores the fact that a nuclear-armed Iran would be far more belligerent and dangerous than the regime already has been for the past three decades.
—Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, The Atlantic, 26 June 2025
An increasingly belligerent North Korea has forged ahead with its weapons development, including nuclear warheads.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for belligerent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for belligerent
Adjective
-
Sadly, Minx was soon diagnosed with an aggressive cancer.—
Staff Author,
People.com,
22 July 2025
-
An aggressive hitter, Naylor can get extremely hot, and carry a team with drives to the gap or bombs over the fence.—
Bernie Pleskoff,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
Noun
-
Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
24 July 2025
-
Police responded quickly, separated the combatants and cleared the section.—
Mark Zeigler,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 July 2025
Adjective
-
Israel declared war on Hamas after the militant group's soldiers launched a surprise attack on the Jewish state, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.—
Lily Kepner,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
-
Trump has been uniquely willing to break with Israel on many issues—for instance, by making deals with the Houthi militant group in Yemen and opening a diplomatic dialogue with Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Shara, despite his past alignment with al-Qaeda.—
ZAHA HASSAN,
Foreign Affairs,
29 July 2025
Noun
-
By the time Dragon Ball Super rolls around, Goku is fighting cosmic gods in his quest to save the world and become the strongest warrior in existence.—
Chris Snellgrove,
EW.com,
29 July 2025
-
There was a chink in the indestructible warrior’s armour.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
28 July 2025
Adjective
-
Five days later, on July 8, an attorney for the city manager submitted a letter of potential claim against the city citing defamation, harassment and creation of a hostile work environment.—
Anita Edmondson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 July 2025
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In early October 2022, the ruling said, McCarty filed a hostile work environment complaint with the police department.—
Judy L. Thomas,
Kansas City Star,
25 July 2025
Noun
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What may have been a Roman soldier's monthly paycheck has emerged from under the ground, officials announced this month.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
31 July 2025
-
An action-adventure flick directed by J.C. Chandor for Netflix, Triple Frontier follows a group of former special-ops soldiers who — feeling financially undervalued for their years spent in military service — decide to get what's rightfully theirs by robbing a drug lord.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
31 July 2025
Noun
-
Abbott is also seeking $3.62 billion to defray costs for the National Guard deployment and $2.25 billion for the cost of keeping DPS troopers at the border.—
John C. Moritz,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
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Isaac Damon King, accused of murdering an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper in 2018, was denied his motion to withdraw a guilty plea.—
Perry Vandell,
AZCentral.com,
29 July 2025
Noun
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Thousands of books and films have been made over the past 80 years celebrating the bravery of American servicemen during World War II.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 July 2025
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Ukrainian blogger and serviceman Stanislav Buniatov, who goes by the call sign Osman, wrote that the advances bring Moscow’s forces further into the Dnipropetrovsk region, an area not originally part of Putin’s territorial goals.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
17 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Belligerent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belligerent. Accessed 3 Aug. 2025.
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