trigger-happy

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of trigger-happy The trigger-happy tradition to shoot guns in the air at midnight on New Years Eve has gone on for decades. Natalie Davies, Detroit Free Press, 27 Dec. 2024 With concern solidifying around Mexico’s role as a pipeline for Chinese products, the president-elect may have another reason to adopt a trigger-happy stance on duties—and a review of USMCA. Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019 The screenplay even pays tribute to the island’s anti-fascist heritage with an elderly, trigger-happy partisan shooting from her balcony and singing Communist songs with the Mayor. Alissa Simon, Variety, 16 Aug. 2024 Dancing next to the procession of kids and the trigger-happy xylophone infant. Raven Smith, Vogue, 22 July 2024 See All Example Sentences for trigger-happy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trigger-happy
Adjective
  • Image In pursuit of the presidency, Mr. Simion has muted the belligerent, often xenophobic message that dominated his early career as a public figure, which began with involvement in groups of nationalist soccer fans known as ultras.
    Andrew Higgins, New York Times, 16 May 2025
  • Markets fall on Trump's trade comments U.S. stocks fell Tuesday after Trump gave belligerent comments on trade deals.
    Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 7 May 2025
Adjective
  • As the documentary captures, Billy Joel arrived as a romantic pop star who was also a pugnacious fighter.
    Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 6 June 2025
  • Beyond Schenn’s goal scoring touch and physical, pugnacious style of play; Schenn would potentially offer some sneaky value to a Canadian franchise acquiring him this summer.
    Harman Dayal, New York Times, 30 May 2025
Adjective
  • In 2014, war broke out in the Donbas where my family lived, and Putin’s messaging around Victory Day became much more bellicose, making my family reject the holiday ever since.
    Sasha Vasilyuk, Time, 8 May 2025
  • Then a sudden switch: a bellicose, spine-stiffening bass line, and the instantly infamous refrain.
    Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 15 May 2025
Adjective
  • Little has been disclosed about the administration’s plan, which represents yet another salvo in President Trump’s combative push to reshape higher education, which has roiled academia, disrupted campus life and spilled into courts across the country.
    Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
  • The public backing of Crockett, known for controversial statements and confrontational tactics, signals a potential shift toward more combative political messaging.
    Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 May 2025
Adjective
  • The bottom line: Bipartisanship is the most obvious casualty of Schumer's new warlike posture toward the GOP.
    Hans Nichols, Axios, 21 Mar. 2025
  • Freyja, however, is a more warlike goddess, and even has a part in selecting warriors for her hall in the afterlife.
    Erik Kain, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Addressing the Obvious Critiques Yes, 3–4% real growth is aggressive.
    Don Muir, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
  • After the aggressive animal showed no signs of leaving, the woman’s boyfriend fatally shot it, officials said.
    Paloma Chavez, Sacbee.com, 3 June 2025
Adjective
  • In response to the vote, Iraqi troops retook vast swathes of territory seized by Kurdish forces during their joint fight against the Islamic State militant group (ISIS).
    Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 May 2025
  • In December, after years of stalemate in the war, Assad’s long-standing authoritarian regime collapsed, in the face of an unexpected offensive by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist militant group once affiliated with al-Qaida.
    Elizabeth Shackelford, Chicago Tribune, 30 May 2025
Adjective
  • Merz may have taken to heart a truculent speech Vance had given days earlier at the Munich Security Conference.
    Shane Harris, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2025
  • Giorgia’s leadership is threatened by increasingly truculent government allies, so Arianna is overseeing the backroom process of reverting their post-Fascist party to its more tribal roots.
    Mattia Ferraresi, airmail.news, 5 Oct. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Trigger-happy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trigger-happy. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.

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