1
as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
die-hard fans who became truculent and violent after their team's loss
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in abusive
marked by harsh insulting language
a theater critic who was notorious for his titanically truculent reviews
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in brutal
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others
played the role of a disturbed and truculent villain
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of truculent
France is in the midst of its worst political crisis in decades as a succession of minority governments seek to push deficit-reducing budgets through a truculent legislature split into three distinct ideological blocs.
—
Reuters, NBC news, 16 Oct. 2025
France has been mired in crisis as a series of minority governments struggle to pass deficit-reduction measures through a truculent parliament, split between three ideological blocs.
—CNN Money, 12 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, Obama was too careful; Senate Republicans were too truculent; the Steele dossier created unrealistic expectations.
—Keith Gessen, New Yorker, 16 July 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for truculent
Reuters, NBC news, 16 Oct. 2025
France has been mired in crisis as a series of minority governments struggle to pass deficit-reduction measures through a truculent parliament, split between three ideological blocs.
—CNN Money, 12 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, Obama was too careful; Senate Republicans were too truculent; the Steele dossier created unrealistic expectations.
—Keith Gessen, New Yorker, 16 July 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for truculent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for truculent
Adjective
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Anthony Bernon, 28, said Americans are becoming increasingly concerned about i the aggressive tactics being used by ICE and other federal agencies enforcing immigration policy.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
13 Jan. 2026
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Reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement going door to door have circulated, and so too have videos alleging profiling based on race and ICE's apparent aggressive tactics.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
13 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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My research explores how well-meaning, but draconian, efforts to correct the abusive opioid prescription promotion practices of drug companies were followed by a nationwide explosion of overdoses from illicit opioids, again in the absence of equivalent efforts to make opioid treatment available.—
Charles LeBaron,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
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The law requires members all be treated consistently, so unpleasant abusive members are entitled to the same roof repair as saintly grateful members.—
Kelly G. Richardson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Between wading or boating into choppy surf, baking in the hot sun, and getting doused in salty spray, the elements are brutal on the human body and the gear meant to withstand them.—
Francesca Krempa,
Outside,
9 Jan. 2026
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Phạm Lockwood also spoke with Huan Nguyen, the sole survivor of a massacre of a South Vietnamese family in Saigon, a brutal attack allegedly orchestrated by Capt.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Israel and the Lebanese militant group exchanged fire for over a year before reaching a ceasefire in November 2024.—
Wafaa Shurafa,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Jan. 2026
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Iran has been plagued for years by staggering hyperinflation, fueled by Western sanctions imposed over the hardline clerical government's nuclear program and backing for militant groups across the region.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
2 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Many researchers cite those exact words as insulting or wrong when asked about their own terminations.—
STAT Staff,
STAT,
29 Dec. 2025
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With two toddlers and a 10-hour workday for her husband, the advice was more insulting than helpful.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
7 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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The forest had taught him that city dwellers could often be regulated by cruel and rather unpredictable codes.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Jan. 2026
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That Maduro is a cruel dictator is clear; that Trump intends more than just his arrest (such as taking their oil) is equally clear.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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For example, if one aircraft that looks like a civilian plane launches a missile, the enemy might have a reason to believe other civilian aircraft are potentially hostile.—
Eleanor Watson,
CBS News,
14 Jan. 2026
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During the Cold War, administrations authorized CIA operations against hostile regimes engaged in subversion and criminal conduct.—
Timothy M. Herbst,
Hartford Courant,
13 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Corey Heim had 11 victories at the start of the Truck Series finale at Phoenix but needed to dip his truck low in an outrageous seven-wide scramble in overtime to secure the title.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
13 Jan. 2026
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In his earlier work, that kind of behavior felt outrageous or surreal.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Truculent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/truculent. Accessed 19 Jan. 2026.
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