bellicose
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bellicose
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin bellicōsus, equivalent to bellic(us) “pertaining to war” ( bell(um) “war” + -icus -ic ) + -ōsus -ose 1
Explanation
If you walk into a high school where you know no one, find the toughest looking girl in the halls and tell her she's ugly, them's fighting words. Or bellicose ones. Bellicose means eager for war. Bellicose is from Latin bellum "war." A near synonym is belligerent, from the same Latin noun. You may wonder if they're connected to the Latin bellus "pretty, handsome," which gives us the names Bella or Isabella, as well as belle "a beautiful woman." They're not. War and beauty are not related, except in the case of Helen of Troy.
Vocabulary lists containing bellicose
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 2
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100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Bellicose official rhetoric is mixed with an offer to resume negotiations with the US.
From BBC • Jan. 13, 2026
Bellicose language has come from security agencies, but also from the staid quarters of the government, including the diplomats in the Foreign Ministry.
From New York Times • Aug. 4, 2013
And, just below the surface of her current relatively controlled persona, lurks the shadow of the old Bellicose Bella, for whom rage is the staff of life.
From Time Magazine Archive
Bellicose William Clark, 62, the highest-ranking U.S. judge in Germany, bathes in controversy with the warm contentment most men reserve for their tubs.
From Time Magazine Archive
On opening the case I found six quart-bottles of "Henry Clay—1881"; and a card with the compliments of Little Emily and General Bellicose.
From Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 03 Little Journeys to the Homes of American Statesmen by Hubbard, Elbert
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
