as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
a movie reviewer who is spirited, even pugnacious, when defending her opinions
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pugnacious
Netanyahu’s pugnacious rhetoric, his growing reliance on the war and on his hard-right allies for his political survival, and the IDF’s conduct on the ground all suggest a preference for fighting on.
—
Max Rodenbeck, Foreign Affairs, 25 June 2025
Fellow senators have grown accustomed to the Utah Republican’s pugnacious online persona, mostly brushing it off in the name of collegiality.
—Joey Cappelletti, Twin Cities, 21 June 2025
Impetus has come from pugnacious American owner John Textor, but also from the players themselves.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 20 June 2025
As the documentary captures, Billy Joel arrived as a romantic pop star who was also a pugnacious fighter.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for pugnacious
Max Rodenbeck, Foreign Affairs, 25 June 2025
Fellow senators have grown accustomed to the Utah Republican’s pugnacious online persona, mostly brushing it off in the name of collegiality.
—Joey Cappelletti, Twin Cities, 21 June 2025
Impetus has come from pugnacious American owner John Textor, but also from the players themselves.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 20 June 2025
As the documentary captures, Billy Joel arrived as a romantic pop star who was also a pugnacious fighter.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for pugnacious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pugnacious
Adjective
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Mid-summer changes to United’s revolving credit facility indicated a switch in strategy, and there was a more aggressive approach in the market following a summit in Iceland between Sir Jim Ratcliffe, chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox.—
James McNicholas,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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The occurrences grew more aggressive over time, with the Smurls' 75-pound German shepherd getting slammed into a wall and Jack getting attacked while praying.—
Jessica Sager,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Jeffrey Breinholt, an architect of the material support statutes who spent three decades as a federal terrorism prosecutor, defends the laws as crucial to closing loopholes that were exploited by foreign militant groups and their domestic sympathizers.—
Hannah Allam,
ProPublica,
10 Sep. 2025
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Lellouche stars as unlikely hero Zem, a disillusioned Zone 3 cop with an idealistic militant past, who is teamed with haughty, high-flying Zone 2 officer Salia, played by Adèle Exarchopoulos, after a leading politician is assassinated in Zone 1.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Thanks to climate change, Cosmism’s ambivalent and generally hostile attitude towards the natural world should also sound familiar.—
Tim Brinkhof,
Big Think,
12 Sep. 2025
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Another camera designed to withstand the hostile environment of space was used outside.—
Catherine Muccigrosso,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The contentious issue, which was regarded as a momentous turning point when it was adopted by the European Union in 2023, has been a hot topic at the IAA Mobility auto show in Munich this week.—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
10 Sep. 2025
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One of those was his contentious divorce with his first wife Denise Richards.—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pugnacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pugnacious. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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