1
as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
die-hard fans who became truculent and violent after their team's loss
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in abusive
marked by harsh insulting language
a theater critic who was notorious for his titanically truculent reviews
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 truculent
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
Is some planet somewhere pulling in the wrong direction, like a truculent mule?
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 24 Dec. 2024
Deda’s son, Karel (a terrific turn from Karel Martinec, the filmmaker’s own father) is an ornery recent widower who is truculent with his two adult daughters Lucie (Pavlína Balner) and Romana (Karin Bilíková).
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 5 July 2024
Needing Maher’s truculent approval to sustain their own arguments, they’re defined by their enemy.
—Armond White, National Review, 7 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for truculent
Mattia Ferraresi, airmail.news, 5 Oct. 2024
Is some planet somewhere pulling in the wrong direction, like a truculent mule?
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 24 Dec. 2024
Deda’s son, Karel (a terrific turn from Karel Martinec, the filmmaker’s own father) is an ornery recent widower who is truculent with his two adult daughters Lucie (Pavlína Balner) and Romana (Karin Bilíková).
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 5 July 2024
Needing Maher’s truculent approval to sustain their own arguments, they’re defined by their enemy.
—Armond White, National Review, 7 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for truculent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for truculent
Adjective
-
Potential Fed chair David Zervos backs an aggressive rate cut.—
Yeo Boon Ping,
CNBC,
15 Aug. 2025
-
The former Calle 13 member impresses her sensitivity to this piece, originally written by Orlando Brito and popularized in 1975 by the great Héctor Lavoe, giving it new life with her powerful, dramatic voice, accompanied by street guitars and harsh, aggressive chords that captivate the listener.—
Jessica Roiz,
Billboard,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The decision sparked a firestorm on social media — where much of the debate around these issues is taking place — and Jackson-Smith was the target of abusive and threatening comments from both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine supporters.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Aug. 2025
-
At the same time, Mahoney was dealing with legal battles against her abusive ex-boyfriend.—
Victoria Elena Valenzuela,
USA Today,
2 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
At the world’s southern edge, where nature is brutal and time stands still, hunters, herders and families endure the cold and solitude as ghosts roam the pampa.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
16 Aug. 2025
-
Launch control is a wild ride, equal parts fun and brutal, as all that boost sends the V-6 screaming.—
Jonny Lieberman,
Robb Report,
16 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
While some agree with early views of student protestors that Israel is carrying out a campaign of cruelty and ethnic cleansing in Gaza, others insist Hamas, the militant group in control of the region, which attacked Israel on Oct. 7, sparking the war, is solely responsible for the suffering.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
5 Aug. 2025
-
Videos released by the militant groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad last week showed hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski in a visibly fragile state – images that galvanized a forceful reaction both at home and abroad.—
Dana Karni,
CNN Money,
3 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The result was viciously insulting, not the sort of thing anyone would want to read about themselves.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
18 July 2025
-
To not even reach 10 percent is insulting to all involved and indicates how much needs to change, which is exactly what a group of industry power players are attempting to do in Nashville.—
Steve Baltin,
Forbes.com,
23 July 2025
Adjective
-
That is a particularly egregious example of how the Trump Administration has been gratuitously cruel to the Sudanese.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
5 Aug. 2025
-
Stacy, Tim’s wife, also died of pancreatic cancer five months later in February of 2024, a cruel hand for a family that for years had gone above and beyond in their efforts to raise money and awareness for cancer research.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
3 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
In recent weeks, both have also moved military forces to the border near Assab and are engaging in escalating exchanges of hostile rhetoric.—
Mulugeta Gebrehiwot Berhe,
Foreign Affairs,
5 Aug. 2025
-
Meanwhile, Trump has moved closer to Pakistan, with which India has hostile relations and the U.S. has historically had a complex and sometimes tense relationship, especially as Pakistan has grown closer to and is primarily armed by China.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
This game lets fans of telenovelas take on the outrageous characters and melodramatic plot twists to tell memorable stories.—
Rob Wieland,
Forbes.com,
6 Aug. 2025
-
Adam Devine brought outrageous comedy to the role of Bumper and has been a regular face in film and TV since.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
People.com,
3 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Truculent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/truculent. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share