as in boxers
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 Synonyms for pugilists
Noun
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Enter the brothers Moon, a troubled pair of Korean immigrant boxers who’ve carved out a life for themselves in the City of Angels, far away from the Beverly Hills mansions and Hollywood royalty of last season.
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The new documentary follows Louis through his upbringing in Alabama and Detroit, rise through the ranks of American boxing in the 1930s and bouts with Schmeling, a German heavyweight who was considered one of the world's best boxers at the time.
Noun
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Some of the young fighters and their coach spoke with CBS News Chicago about the impact the program has inside and outside the ring.
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Though Hezbollah has largely been more effective this year than in the 2024 conflict, the recent fighting in Lebanon was just as imbalanced as two years ago, with thousands of Hezbollah fighters being killed at the cost of a few dozen Israeli military troops.
Noun
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Roman emperors used gladiators to do just that.
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Thus, in a moment celebrated by the poet Martial in his Liber de Spectaculis, the emperor Titus freed two gladiators on the opening day of the Colosseum.
Cite this Entry
“Pugilists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pugilists. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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