feistiness

noun

as in aggression
an inclination to fight or quarrel a panel of political pundits with a well-earned reputation for unfettered feistiness

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 feistiness Many of Paraguay’s transgressions could have ended in yellow cards, but did not and towards the end, France brought their own feistiness to the fore. — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 5 July 2026 Council, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound, 24-year-old native of Rochester, New York, showed some of that feistiness during the recent Pacers’ workout. — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 10 June 2026 Thanks to the care from the hospital staff at Carne Foundation and her own feistiness, Sienna Bobbie Crocker now weighs seven pounds, 12 ½ ounces and last Monday, 43 days after her birthday, the family brought her home. — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2026 Mangiapane’s feistiness is something the group can learn from, now that the 29-year-old is suddenly a veteran in the locker room. — Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 14 Mar. 2026 Drescher brought greater visibility and idiosyncratic feistiness to SAG-AFTRA, but can that momentum be sustained? — Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 20 Aug. 2025 Simeone will have to find ways to replace De Paul’s feistiness in midfield, Lino’s strong wing play, and Correa’s tenacity off the bench. — Vitas Carosella, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for feistiness
  1. aggression
  2. aggressiveness
  3. defiance
  4. hostility
  5. pugnacity
Noun
  • Yet the franchise, for all its mayhem, didn’t run on belligerence, or at least channelled its aggression in a disarming way.
    — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 13 July 2026
  • Even after the sub-par performance against Paraguay – admittedly, the South Americans’ physicality and aggression contributed to that – the fans’ belief never wavered.
    — Ben Church, CNN Money, 10 July 2026
Definition of aggression
Noun
  • The coach hopes that expanded duties for Webb, a 2017 third-round pick who made one career NFL start, translate into growth for the Broncos’ offense and improvement for Nix in key areas, including accuracy, touch and aggressiveness.
    — Mike Jones, New York Times, 14 July 2026
  • Cannon breaks down the accountability, aggressiveness and the perspective needed to play effective defense after the team’s reset week.
    — John W. Davis, Oc Register, 5 July 2026
Definition of aggressiveness
Noun
  • There was also a vivid sense of defiance in her capacity to bare so much, to sing about her fear of relapse to a crowd of thousands.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 July 2026
  • In his view, that defiance forced the GOP to take extreme measures and go it alone.
    — Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 12 July 2026
Definition of defiance
Noun
  • Renewed hostilities in the Persian Gulf also complicate the resumption of refining in the Middle East.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 14 July 2026
  • However, Democratic lawmakers have denounced the resumption of the Iran war and the return to active hostilities, despite the interim cease-fire agreement signed June 17.
    — Callum Sutherland, Time, 14 July 2026
Definition of hostility
Noun
  • But all of that is in addition to his defense, his rebounding, his slashing, his voice, his pugnacity.
    — Marcus Thompson II, New York Times, 22 May 2026
  • Trump had won by fifty-three points there in 2016, and Greene’s paranoid pugnacity seemed like a good fit, if voters could stomach an outsider.
    — Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2026
Definition of pugnacity

Browse Nearby Words

feints
feistiness
feisty
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Cite this Entry

“Feistiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/feistiness. Accessed 19 Jul. 2026.

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