belligerent
Americanadjective
-
warlike; given to waging war.
-
of warlike character; aggressively hostile; bellicose.
a belligerent tone.
- Synonyms:
- contentious, antagonistic, quarrelsome, combative, truculent, pugnacious
-
waging war; engaged in war.
a peace treaty between belligerent powers.
-
pertaining to war or to those engaged in war.
belligerent rights.
noun
-
belligerents
plural
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a state or nation at war.
-
a member of the military forces of such a state.
adjective
-
marked by readiness to fight or argue; aggressive
a belligerent tone
-
relating to or engaged in a legally recognized war or warfare
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of belligerent
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”; cf. duel ( def. )) + ger(ere) “to carry, conduct, display”
Explanation
If someone is belligerent, they're eager to fight. It's a good idea to avoid hardcore hockey fans after their team loses — they tend to be belligerent. Belligerent comes from the Latin word bellum, for "war." You can use it to talk about actual wars — the nations taking part in a war are called belligerents — but usually belligerent describes a psychological disposition. If you're running a school for aggressive boys, do plenty of arts and crafts to prevent them from becoming too belligerent. The stress is on the second syllable: bə-LIJ-ə-rənt.
Vocabulary lists containing belligerent
List 3
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ACT Reading Test: Words to Capture Tone, List 1
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A Wrinkle in Time
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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.
See Examples For:
Stories thrive on conflict, which confers an unjust advantage upon the dysfunctional, the belligerent and the wicked.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
The scientists watching this schism aren’t sure why things became so belligerent.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026
Colombo would follow the Hague Convention, the official added, noting it says that "a neutral power which receives on its territory troops belonging to the belligerent armies shall intern them".
From Barron's ● Mar. 9, 2026
MILAN—It’s the bright, belligerent Winter Games showdown you could have hand-carved into Italian marble two weeks ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2026
Old Stew might rant, he might take you by the collar, become belligerent, even stumble on the stairs when going to sleep, but none of it was a surprise.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
If it’s axiomatic that war never goes the way belligerents expect it to, the last great battle in the Revolution is the exception that proves the rule.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
It has also co-opted the economy, so that Sudan’s many riches bankroll the belligerents even as most Sudanese are impoverished.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026
"I expressed my hope that the ceasefire will be fully respected by each of the belligerents, across all areas of confrontation, including in Lebanon," Macron wrote on X after speaking with both leaders.
From Barron's ● Apr. 9, 2026
Perhaps the belligerents realized that attacking this critical infrastructure threatened to create a catastrophic humanitarian disaster.
From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2026
The facts were clear to all belligerents: the final conquest would come from the sky.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
