as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
not a reasoned discussion but a shouting match between gladiatorial pundits from opposite ends of the political spectrum
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Recent Examples of gladiatorial
At the conference, Farage appeared onstage in a blaze of pyrotechnics and gladiatorial chords.
—
Sam Knight, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2025
Under his rule, the teens are pitted against each other (and other supes) in gladiatorial-style combat.
—EW.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Sam Knight, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2025
Under his rule, the teens are pitted against each other (and other supes) in gladiatorial-style combat.
—EW.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gladiatorial
Adjective
-
Cynics may not believe the aggressive talk from the company.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
28 Sep. 2025
-
And the Buckeyes are working through some kinks in an offense that turns from conservative to aggressive in random segments of the game.—
Cameron Teague Robinson,
New York Times,
28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
And as increasingly militant voices in our culture have joined the ranks, the environment has become even more intolerant.—
Amy Stephens,
Denver Post,
22 Sep. 2025
-
In the story, Raina is a young Bulgarian woman who must choose between her militant fiancé, Sergius, and the kind, war-weary soldier Bluntschli, who has sought out refuge in her bedroom.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The discovery renews scrutiny of Bolton’s handling of sensitive national security information and echoes long-standing concerns first raised during a contentious legal battle over his 2020 memoir.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Sep. 2025
-
There is a contentious debate about AI in Hollywood.—
J.D. Capelouto,
semafor.com,
24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Students from the kingdom are increasingly turning away from US universities in particular, put off by a mix of hostile immigration policies, concerns over gun violence, and the kingdom’s own push to grow its domestic education sector.—
Manal Albarakati,
semafor.com,
26 Sep. 2025
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The move to social media and algorithmic media was really a move toward a style of political communication that is somewhat hostile to the liberal project and the deliberative, open-minded, thoughtful, on-the-one-hand-on-the-other-hand mode of discourse that Obama is good at.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The kitchen remains bloody and agonistic, demanding the preparation of yet another family meal.—
E. Tammy Kim,
The New Yorker,
14 July 2023
-
The agonistic, Faulknerian circumstances fill the house with awful silences.—
Matthew Gavin Frank,
Harper's Magazine,
21 Dec. 2022
Adjective
-
Meanwhile, a warlike species would probably just wipe us out.—
Matthew Hutson,
New Yorker,
7 Sep. 2025
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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
Adjective
-
In mythology, Mars is the god of war, known for its fierce and combative nature, and this is no exception in astrology.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
22 Sep. 2025
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Darcy said that when a person is resisting officers, their knowledge of the person having pre-existing medical conditions is not enough to prevent them from restraining someone combative.—
Kendrick Calfee,
Kansas City Star,
21 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gladiatorial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gladiatorial. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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