- belligerent
- belligerent adj Belligerent, bellicose, pugnacious, combative, quarrelsome, contentious mean having or taking an aggressive or fighting attitude.Belligerent usually implies actual engagement in hostilities{
the belligerent powers in the World War
}{define a nation's status as not neutral yet not belligerent
}When applied to such things as tones, speeches, or gestures, the term implies an actively hostile mood or warlike temper{a belligerent reply to a diplomatic note
}Bellicose applies usually to a state of mind or temper; it suggests a desire or readiness to fight or sometimes a disposition to stir up a fight{a bellicose tribe
}{an intoxicated man in a bellicose mood
}{an editorial in a bellicose vein
}Pugnacious and combative differ from bellicose (which is sometimes given an ironic or mock-heroic turn) in applying more commonly to disposition or character; they need not, however, convey the impression of pettiness or ill nature or of readiness to fight without genuine cause, so frequently implied in quarrelsome{the Scotch are certainly a most pugnacious people; their whole history proves it— Borrow
}{combat in the field of sports . . . [is] generally approved. The combative impulses in human nature may thus find an expression— Cohen
}{soon every father bird and mother grew quarrelsome, and pecked each other— Cowper
}{on the days they worked they were good-natured and cheerful ... on our idle days they were mutinous and quarrelsome— Franklin
}Contentious frequently suggests perversity of temper and wearisome persistence in dispute{a very kind woman, though saying what she liked about her neighbors, and contentious toward all antireformers— Canby
}Analogous words: hostile, antagonistic (see corresponding nouns at ENMITY): fighting, warring, battling, contending (see CONTEND): warlike, *martialAntonyms: friendly
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.
