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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gladiatorial
Adjective
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Potential Fed chair David Zervos backs an aggressive rate cut.—
Yeo Boon Ping,
CNBC,
15 Aug. 2025 -
Poor oral hygiene allows plaque bacteria to produce acids that contribute to decay, while aggressive brushing can physically wear away the enamel surface.—
Thomas Westerholm,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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While some agree with early views of student protestors that Israel is carrying out a campaign of cruelty and ethnic cleansing in Gaza, others insist Hamas, the militant group in control of the region, which attacked Israel on Oct. 7, sparking the war, is solely responsible for the suffering.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
5 Aug. 2025
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Videos released by the militant groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad last week showed hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski in a visibly fragile state – images that galvanized a forceful reaction both at home and abroad.—
Dana Karni,
CNN Money,
3 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Instead of a more contentious disagreement, which could have necessitated a final ruling from commissioner Roger Goodell, the two sides ultimately settled on an agreement to share the equity.—
Eben Novy-Williams,
Sportico.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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Elsewhere in the Bay Area, San Francisco Playhouse is wrapping up a one-person show that leads audiences to consider their feelings and beliefs about the profoundly contentious Israel-Gaza conflict, even though it’s mostly meant to be a personal story.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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In recent weeks, both have also moved military forces to the border near Assab and are engaging in escalating exchanges of hostile rhetoric.—
Mulugeta Gebrehiwot Berhe,
Foreign Affairs,
5 Aug. 2025
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Meanwhile, Trump has moved closer to Pakistan, with which India has hostile relations and the U.S. has historically had a complex and sometimes tense relationship, especially as Pakistan has grown closer to and is primarily armed by China.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The kitchen remains bloody and agonistic, demanding the preparation of yet another family meal.—
E. Tammy Kim,
The New Yorker,
14 July 2023
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The agonistic, Faulknerian circumstances fill the house with awful silences.—
Matthew Gavin Frank,
Harper's Magazine,
21 Dec. 2022
Adjective
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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
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The bottom line: Bipartisanship is the most obvious casualty of Schumer's new warlike posture toward the GOP.—
Hans Nichols,
Axios,
21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Of course, the increasingly partisan, combative, and at times, chaotic atmosphere had infiltrated the modern Congress before Johnson or his Senate counterpart, Majority Leader John Thune, took the gavel.—
Savannah Kuchar,
USA Today,
3 Aug. 2025
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Instead, the parties have yet to even reach an agreement for the contract that expired in 2022, and the union is taking a more publicly combative tone ahead of arbitration.—
David Clarey,
jsonline.com,
31 July 2025
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“Gladiatorial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gladiatorial. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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