as in boxer
one that engages in the sport of fighting with the fists
a pugilist with the trademark of the boxing ring: a nose that showed signs of having been broken on more than one occasion
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Recent Examples of pugilist
The true-life sports biopic unleashes Leo as Alice, the loud, over-the-top matriarch of a large Boston family and manager mom to Micky Ward, a championship boxing contender trained by his drug-addict pugilist half-brother Dicky.
—
Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2025
An odd corps of swampy Washington DC pugilists are ready to engage, likely supplemented by political pressure from shipbuilding companies.
—Craig Hooper, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
The 36-year-old Irish martial arts fighter announced his intentions to take on the 29-year-old pugilist Tuesday.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 17 Dec. 2024
The Texas Democrat has quickly emerged as among the most prominent of the Democrats’ young and rising stars, carving out a reputation as a fierce partisan pugilist ready to take on conservatives over some of the hottest topics being debated in the Capitol.
—Mike Lillis, The Hill, 17 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for pugilist
Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2025
An odd corps of swampy Washington DC pugilists are ready to engage, likely supplemented by political pressure from shipbuilding companies.
—Craig Hooper, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
The 36-year-old Irish martial arts fighter announced his intentions to take on the 29-year-old pugilist Tuesday.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 17 Dec. 2024
The Texas Democrat has quickly emerged as among the most prominent of the Democrats’ young and rising stars, carving out a reputation as a fierce partisan pugilist ready to take on conservatives over some of the hottest topics being debated in the Capitol.
—Mike Lillis, The Hill, 17 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for pugilist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pugilist
Noun
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To get there, Engine Room VR recruited amateur and professional boxers, including British heavyweight Johnny Fisher, to act as ambassadors and consultants.—
Griff Griffin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 June 2025
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Musk's breakup with the administration has been public and is well-documented, with Trump and the Tesla CEO trading calculated jabs like pro boxers.—
Charles Singh,
USA Today,
7 June 2025
Noun
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In the last decade or so, the prevalent strain is fighters not merely driven by their fathers but actually trained by them.—
Mark Kriegel
June 4,
Literary Hub,
4 June 2025
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The Netherlands has provided key arms to Kyiv, including F-16 fighter jets.—
Mike Corder,
Chicago Tribune,
4 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pugilist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pugilist. Accessed 14 Jun. 2025.
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