belligerent

American  

[buh-lij-er-uhnt] / bəˈlɪdʒ ər ənt /

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.

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noun

1. a state or nation at war.

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

belligerent British  

/ 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

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noun

1. a person or country engaged in fighting or war

Other Word Forms

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

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”; 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.

Example Sentences

Pezeshkian meanwhile said the success of diplomacy depended on the "goodwill of the parties involved and the abandonment of belligerent and threatening actions in the region," his office said.

From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026

The company collects cars around the clock, but the cover of darkness cuts the odds of encountering belligerent owners.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 28, 2025

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.

From Salon • Sep. 24, 2025

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.

From BBC • Sep. 22, 2025

There are more than four thousand different sorts of them, and from all those kinds I can only think of five which are belligerent.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Related Words

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