as in pugnacity
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for pugnaciousness
Noun
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Trump had won by fifty-three points there in 2016, and Greene’s paranoid pugnacity seemed like a good fit, if voters could stomach an outsider.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
5 Jan. 2026 -
That does not mean his pugnacity has dimmed.—
Matt Zoller Seitz,
Vulture,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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But Bondi decided the moment called for combativeness, not contrition.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
11 Feb. 2026
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Bessent’s combativeness is, in part, a sign of the times, said David Lublin, chair of the Department of Government at American University’s School of Public Affairs.—
Fatima Hussein,
Fortune,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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His aggression led to him getting six attempts at the free-throw line.—
Dan Rios,
Daily News,
6 Mar. 2026
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Smog-forming emissions can interfere with insect communication by breaking down pheromones, causing ant colonies to exhibit aggression toward their own members and neglect their larvae.—
Tony Briscoe,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Having worked with people of all types, with agenda’s, belligerence, ultimately, short of a mental illness, there’s a way to get things done with people who think differently, etc.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
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Balich and other Olympic leaders already have their hands full maintaining order at a time of rising belligerence.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Rogan began the show in his customary posture of sleepy truculence.—
Tad Friend,
New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2026
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Those who remember the truculence of those rough-and-tumble Ducks know how much of a sacrifice that was.—
Jim Alexander,
Oc Register,
6 June 2025
Noun
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The Supreme Court’s invalidation of most Trump tariffs and the bellicosity of his response, which included the immediate imposition of new 10% tariffs across the board and the threat to increase them to 15%, have done nothing to settle investors’ nerves.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Feb. 2026
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The beating death of ultraconservative activist Quentin Deranque in the French city of Lyon last week has pushed both the country’s far right and left flanks toward bellicosity, as both ends of the political spectrum blame the other for his death and the threat of further violence.—
Rafi Schwartz,
TheWeek,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Throughout, Zelensky has shown a feistiness that Bartosz Cichocki, Poland’s ambassador to Kyiv during the Russian invasion, believes likely comes from his childhood in one of the poorest parts of what was then the Soviet Union.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
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Covino’s facility with his ensemble is to draw out their inherent screen qualities, from Marvin’s ebullience, to Arjona’s energetic feistiness, to Johnson’s unflappable cool.—
Katie Walsh,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Collins said the coaching staff looked at first-half film and thought the Wildcats’ hand activity and aggressiveness on defense were off.—
Colleen Kane,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Mar. 2026
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The rest of the game passed by without any noticeable uptick in aggressiveness from the Leafs.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
8 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Pugnaciousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pugnaciousness. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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