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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bellicose Room for Disagreement There is a case that a less bellicose, less in-your-face flavour of DOGE could work better — and that such changes are easier when they’re not associated with a controversial figure. Jim Waterson, semafor.com, 6 June 2025 In 2014, war broke out in the Donbas where my family lived, and Putin’s messaging around Victory Day became much more bellicose, making my family reject the holiday ever since. Sasha Vasilyuk, Time, 8 May 2025 Then a sudden switch: a bellicose, spine-stiffening bass line, and the instantly infamous refrain. Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 15 May 2025 Trump, for all his bellicose rhetoric and military escalations, has always been deeply skeptical of getting into another major Middle Eastern war. Marc Lynch, Foreign Affairs, 12 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for bellicose
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bellicose
Adjective
  • But the Cubs and Yankees will likely be much more aggressive in pursuing him than the Brewers will.
    Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 June 2025
  • Cross-examination of the victims’ two surviving roommates will likely be aggressive, especially of Dylan Mortensen.
    Jean Casarez, CNN Money, 28 June 2025
Adjective
  • The Islamic State militant group (ISIS) operates both east and west of Iran and has also stepped up operations within the Islamic Republic itself, having claimed the deadliest operation in the nation's post-revolutionary history in January 2024.
    Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025
  • Bondi also shared that over 1,000 Iranian nationals have entered the country illegally in recent years and said law enforcement agencies are actively investigating them for possible ties to foreign militant groups.
    Elaine Mallon, The Washington Examiner, 24 June 2025
Adjective
  • Guzman’s book was used as a common reader by several universities in 2024, reflecting ongoing concerns about the often hostile, partisan gaps that have roiled many campuses in recent years.
    Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • In the five years since the events of Jurassic World Dominion, many of the dinosaurs and other formerly extinct creatures that were set free into the world have died off, unable to survive in the modern climate and otherwise hostile environments.
    Maureen Lee Lenker Published, EW.com, 30 June 2025
Adjective
  • European powers had withdrawn the crew’s belligerent status, and the new American president, Andrew Johnson, had excluded them from the general amnesty offered to Confederate soldiers.
    Francine Uenuma, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 June 2025
  • On Tuesday, Trump adopted his most belligerent stance yet on Iran in a series of social media posts.
    Niall Stanage, The Hill, 17 June 2025
Adjective
  • His warlike actions in Iran, despite campaign promises to the contrary, blatantly bypassed the need to gain approval from the legislative branch of government.
    Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 29 June 2025
  • The bottom line: Bipartisanship is the most obvious casualty of Schumer's new warlike posture toward the GOP.
    Hans Nichols, Axios, 21 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Bellicose.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bellicose. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.

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