belligerent

[buh-lij-er-uhnt]

adjective

1. warlike; given to waging war.

2. of warlike character; aggressively hostile; bellicose.

   a belligerent tone.

   Synonyms: contentious, antagonistic, quarrelsome, combative, truculent, pugnacious

3. waging war; engaged in war.

   a peace treaty between belligerent powers.

4. pertaining to war or to those engaged in war.

   belligerent rights.

noun

1. a state or nation at war.

2. a member of the military forces of such a state.

belligerent

/ bɪˈlɪdʒərənt /

adjective

1. marked by readiness to fight or argue; aggressive

   a belligerent tone

2. relating to or engaged in a legally recognized war or warfare

noun

1. a person or country engaged in fighting or war

Other Word Forms

• belligerently adverb
• interbelligerent adjective
• unbelligerent adjective
• unbelligerently adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of belligerent¹

First recorded in 1570–80; earlier belligerant, from Latin belligerant-, stem of belligerāns “waging war,” present participle of belligerāre “to wage war,” verb derivative of belliger “warlike,” from belli- (combining form of bellum, earlier duellum “war”; duel ( def. ) ) + ger(ere) “to carry, conduct, display”

Word History and Origins

Origin of belligerent¹

C16: from Latin belliger , from bellum war + gerere to wage

Example Sentences

General Assembly to deliver a belligerent and lengthy speech when the escalator he and the first lady were riding stopped abruptly, forcing them to walk the rest of the way up.

Read more on Salon

This fictional scene led to real consequences over the weekend, with many Chinese social media users taking it to be a malicious mischaracterisation of China as belligerent.

Read more on BBC

But the feeling among many in the Gulf is that Israel is just as belligerent and destabilizing an actor as Iran.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The president’s militarism and increasingly belligerent foreign policy, as symbolized by his War Department, is a betrayal of these voters.

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The strike on Doha adds to a growing list of Arab countries Israel has struck in the last month, emphasizing the Israeli government’s more belligerent post-Oct.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• aggressive 
• antagonistic 
• bellicose 
• combative 
• contentious 
• hostile 
• ornery 
• quarrelsome