as in belligerent
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Recent Examples of trigger-happy
Critics often portray Truman's decision as an act of monstrous brutality—a flex of raw military might by a sadistic and trigger-happy superpower.
—
Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Aug. 2025
As played by Paul Newman, William Bonney is a trigger-happy hothead who’s more misunderstood than evil.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 18 July 2025
The sadistic and trigger-happy Mr. Blonde was one of the 400 nominees for the American Film Institute's list of the all-time greatest movie villains.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 3 July 2025
Bernthal made his Marvel debut as the trigger-happy vigilante in Netflix's Daredevil series before going on to front his own spinoff, The Punisher, which ran for two seasons.
—EW.com, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for trigger-happy
Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Aug. 2025
As played by Paul Newman, William Bonney is a trigger-happy hothead who’s more misunderstood than evil.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 18 July 2025
The sadistic and trigger-happy Mr. Blonde was one of the 400 nominees for the American Film Institute's list of the all-time greatest movie villains.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 3 July 2025
Bernthal made his Marvel debut as the trigger-happy vigilante in Netflix's Daredevil series before going on to front his own spinoff, The Punisher, which ran for two seasons.
—EW.com, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for trigger-happy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trigger-happy
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
Adjective
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The web of secrets and confessions, schemes and counterplots, short-term pleasures and far-reaching decisions, are couched in dialogue that is pugnacious, vulnerable, comedic, and sometimes richly poetic, and which feels as spontaneous as it is carefully crafted.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
4 Sep. 2025
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The Godfather director steals the show here as an energetic, pugnacious and visionary circus ringleader who put his money where his mouth was for a project that wound up flopping critically and commercially.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The Fed’s debates about monetary policy come against a bellicose political backdrop, in which the central bank’s traditional independence is eroding.—
Paolo Confino,
Fortune,
18 July 2025
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The bellicose saga between Iran and the United States goes back seven decades and 13 presidents, a relationship that broke down after the people of Iran rose up against a regime the United States helped install 1953.—
Erin Mansfield,
USA Today,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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Some aspects of playing right-back suit Wieffer’s combative instincts.—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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Kennedy appears combative during testimony The three-hour hearing quickly became combative as Kennedy defended his time as HHS secretary amid a flurry of questions on his staffing shakeups, vaccine changes and other issues.—
Will McDuffie,
ABC News,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Meanwhile, a warlike species would probably just wipe us out.—
Matthew Hutson,
New Yorker,
7 Sep. 2025
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His warlike actions in Iran, despite campaign promises to the contrary, blatantly bypassed the need to gain approval from the legislative branch of government.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
29 June 2025
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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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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Meanwhile, Obama was too careful; Senate Republicans were too truculent; the Steele dossier created unrealistic expectations.—
Keith Gessen,
New Yorker,
16 July 2025
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Not the first imaginative, truculent Irishman to play the game, nor the last, McCracken’s militancy and principles put him at odds with the Irish Football Association.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
12 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Trigger-happy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trigger-happy. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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