belligerently
Americanadverb
Explanation
Mean people are not cool. They go around acting belligerently, or being hostile and aggressive to others. No one likes a meanie. The word belligerently comes from the Latin belligerant meaning "waging war," which is in effect, what someone acting belligerently is doing. Think of those two l's in the word as two soldiers marching in formation and you might have some help remembering that belligerently is spelled with two l's and not one. Often this word is used to describe the way that some people start to behave when they've had too much to drink, lashing out belligerently, or being overly aggressive.
Vocabulary lists containing belligerently
Of Mice and Men
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Number the Stars
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Fighting Words: Belli and Milit
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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.
But videos of the event, combined with Duncan’s behavior on the bench so far, strongly suggest that he did prepare himself—not to “stay composed,” but to belligerently insult the protesters with schoolyard taunts.
From Slate • Mar. 13, 2023
When people in the audience at a presentation ask questions belligerently, Berg responds, “Do you feel better? Can I continue?”
From Scientific American • Mar. 25, 2022
On the future of fashion, he predicts, perhaps more belligerently than credibly, that jeans — a trend for decades — will soon disappear in favor of elegant gowns and evening wear.
From New York Times • Sep. 24, 2021
A burly Akita trots the perimeter barking belligerently as I yell and wave my arms, hoping to draw an occupant out to offer directions.
From Washington Post • Jun. 11, 2020
“Your name is Fortiori,” Major Sanderson contradicted him belligerently.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
