1
as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
a quarrelsome student who was always being sent to the principal's office for starting fights in the halls
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in contentious
given to arguing
you're so quarrelsome: you can never do anything without a fuss
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of quarrelsome
And what of the fact that Snow White, abandoned in the woods (where the Huntsman is too kindhearted to carry out the Evil Queen’s order to murder her), comes upon a cottage where seven cute, quarrelsome 249-year-old short men with Amish beards live in bachelor squalor and become her protectors?
—
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 19 Mar. 2025
Not even Caplan, whose one-note portrayal of a quarrelsome congresswoman is enough to make one yearn for the subtleties and emotional shadings of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
—Graham Hillard, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 7 Mar. 2025
In 1254, King Edward I and Queen Eleanor of Castile were married at a very young age, and although Edward had a reputation for being arrogant and quarrelsome, the pair eventually fell deeply in love.
—Gulnaz Khan, AFAR Media, 13 Feb. 2025
In the previous three years alone, the police had responded to a dozen incidents featuring the quarrelsome man.
—Photographs Todd Heisler, New York Times, 19 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for quarrelsome
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 19 Mar. 2025
Not even Caplan, whose one-note portrayal of a quarrelsome congresswoman is enough to make one yearn for the subtleties and emotional shadings of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
—Graham Hillard, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 7 Mar. 2025
In 1254, King Edward I and Queen Eleanor of Castile were married at a very young age, and although Edward had a reputation for being arrogant and quarrelsome, the pair eventually fell deeply in love.
—Gulnaz Khan, AFAR Media, 13 Feb. 2025
In the previous three years alone, the police had responded to a dozen incidents featuring the quarrelsome man.
—Photographs Todd Heisler, New York Times, 19 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for quarrelsome
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quarrelsome
Adjective
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Now and in the future In the early days of the Bowman era, the Oilers appear to be more aggressive in looking for talent.—
Allan Mitchell,
New York Times,
14 Sep. 2025
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First, assume that classification will be litigated if the arrangement is aggressive or if the borrower is thinly capitalized.—
Virginia La Torre Jeker,
Forbes.com,
13 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
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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As a public institution, UVU upholds First Amendment rights and fosters an environment where ideas – popular or controversial – can be exchanged freely, energetically, and civilly.—
Bill Hutchinson,
ABC News,
15 Sep. 2025
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Despite her controversial inclusion at the event, Melnikova’s performances were met with robust cheers from the Parisian crowd.—
Caroline Price,
Forbes.com,
14 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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Viewers were quick to point out the hilarity of the dog's stubborn protest, with many suggesting that the dachshund had already claimed permanent rights to the bed.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
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The stubborn myth that Jews are too safe to be targets is colliding with a painful new reality.—
Andrew Weinstein,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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He was adopted two weeks later, but after 18 months in his home, Scoob developed a painful skin condition that caused his ears to bleed and left him extremely irritable.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
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Instead, Helen is allowed to be irritable and anti-social, chain-smoking and snappish, without the filmmaker casting judgment.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Medvedev, a former president of Russia and an ally of incumbent President Vladimir Putin, has been known to make belligerent comments against the West, which have likely been approved by the Kremlin.—
Brendan Cole,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Sep. 2025
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This Mary is horny, drunk, and completely belligerent about her dream of being a cabaret star.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Quarrelsome.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quarrelsome. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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