belligerent 1 of 2

belligerent

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word belligerent distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of belligerent are bellicose, contentious, pugnacious, and quarrelsome. While all these words mean "having an aggressive or fighting attitude," belligerent often implies being actually at war or engaged in hostilities.

belligerent nations

When would bellicose be a good substitute for belligerent?

The words bellicose and belligerent can be used in similar contexts, but bellicose suggests a disposition to fight.

a drunk in a bellicose mood

Where would contentious be a reasonable alternative to belligerent?

The synonyms contentious and belligerent are sometimes interchangeable, but contentious implies perverse and irritating fondness for arguing and quarreling.

wearied by his contentious disposition

When might pugnacious be a better fit than belligerent?

While the synonyms pugnacious and belligerent are close in meaning, pugnacious suggests a disposition that takes pleasure in personal combat.

a pugnacious gangster

When is it sensible to use quarrelsome instead of belligerent?

The words quarrelsome and belligerent are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, 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 belligerent
Noun
Abram told The Arizona Republic that Merrill was belligerent and had shoved him the day before. Taylor Seely, AZCentral.com, 21 Aug. 2025 Social deficits can manifest as belligerent or meek. Tao Lin, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025 Concluding that Flanagan isn’t going to leave on her own, police put the belligerent prosecutor in handcuffs. Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 19 Aug. 2025 This arouses the ire of the town’s belligerent sheriff (Colin Hanks, playing against type) and crooked theme park owner (John Ortiz) who decide to get revenge on the apparent family man causing them trouble. Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for belligerent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for belligerent
Adjective
  • Now and in the future In the early days of the Bowman era, the Oilers appear to be more aggressive in looking for talent.
    Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2025
  • First, assume that classification will be litigated if the arrangement is aggressive or if the borrower is thinly capitalized.
    Virginia La Torre Jeker, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Russian and Ukrainian drones have been known to go off course during long-range strikes due to electronic warfare measures employed by the combatants.
    Will Gretsky, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Its data did not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
    Amira El-Fekki‎, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Jeffrey Breinholt, an architect of the material support statutes who spent three decades as a federal terrorism prosecutor, defends the laws as crucial to closing loopholes that were exploited by foreign militant groups and their domestic sympathizers.
    Hannah Allam, ProPublica, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Lellouche stars as unlikely hero Zem, a disillusioned Zone 3 cop with an idealistic militant past, who is teamed with haughty, high-flying Zone 2 officer Salia, played by Adèle Exarchopoulos, after a leading politician is assassinated in Zone 1.
    Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Fallen warriors gather in Odin’s hall, Valhalla.
    Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
  • This requires a lethal, agile, and forward deployed force—anchored by the warrior ethos and ready to defend our nation and its interests at a moment's notice.
    Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Thanks to climate change, Cosmism’s ambivalent and generally hostile attitude towards the natural world should also sound familiar.
    Tim Brinkhof, Big Think, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Another camera designed to withstand the hostile environment of space was used outside.
    Catherine Muccigrosso, Charlotte Observer, 11 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The Guard may have worn out its welcome, but soldiers were still assigned to the region.
    Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 14 Sep. 2025
  • The Netzah Yehuda Battalion, formerly Nahal Haredi, enables Haredi men to serve as combat soldiers while observing strict religious practices.
    Amelie Botbol, FOXNews.com, 14 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • In February, state troopers violently broke up a march for suffrage, resulting in the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson, a church deacon protecting his family.
    Time, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
  • UMass Boston Police responded to the scene, as well as Boston police officers and Massachusetts State Police troopers.
    Dan Gooding Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Unverified image of a Russian serviceman holding a Ukrainian Baba Yaga drone on August 6, 2024.
    Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
  • The home had been loaned to the federal government's United Service Organization (U.S.O.) to serve as a hub of entertainment for the servicemen and women who were training at the nearby U.S. Naval Air Station Grosse Ile, which operated from 1927-1969 as a flight-training base.
    Kristen Jordan Shamus, Freep.com, 31 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Belligerent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belligerent. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.

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