belligerent
Americanadjective
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warlike; given to waging war.
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of warlike character; aggressively hostile; bellicose.
a belligerent tone.
- Synonyms:
- contentious, antagonistic, quarrelsome, combative, truculent, pugnacious
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waging war; engaged in war.
a peace treaty between belligerent powers.
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pertaining to war or to those engaged in war.
belligerent rights.
noun
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a state or nation at war.
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a member of the military forces of such a state.
adjective
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marked by readiness to fight or argue; aggressive
a belligerent tone
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relating to or engaged in a legally recognized war or warfare
noun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Other 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”
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.
The company collects cars around the clock, but the cover of darkness cuts the odds of encountering belligerent owners.
Most wars end with exhausted belligerents making some kind of agreement.
From BBC
European states meanwhile are under pressure to expand spending on defense to counter a belligerent Russia and on healthcare for their aging populations.
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
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
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.
