pugnacious

[puhg-ney-shuhs]

adjective

inclined to quarrel or fight readily; quarrelsome; belligerent; combative.

Origin of pugnacious

1635–45; pugnaci(ty) (< Latin pugnācitās combativeness, equivalent to pugnāci-, stem of pugnāx combative (akin to pugil; see pugilism) + -tās -ty²) + -ous

Related formspug·na·cious·ly, adverbpug·nac·i·ty

[puhg-nas-i-tee] /pʌgˈnæs ɪ ti/, pug·na·cious·ness, nounun·pug·na·cious, adjectiveun·pug·na·cious·ly, adverbun·pug·na·cious·ness, noun

Synonyms for pugnacious

argumentative, contentious, bellicose.

Antonyms for pugnacious

agreeable.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pugnaciously

Historical Examples of pugnaciously

"We'll go down and talk to this Don Loris," he said pugnaciously.
The Pirates of Ersatz
Murray Leinster
"This is not at all pleasant," said Captain Sydenham pugnaciously.
The Art of Disappearing
John Talbot Smith
"Call me 'sir' when you address me," ordered Kennell pugnaciously.
The Dreadnought Boys on Battle Practice
John Henry Goldfrap
He did not say, I am sorry you were not at church, as Ben Trawl pugnaciously expected.
A Singular Life
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps
Then, too, she was pugnaciously loyal to the glories of the best parlor.
The Portion of Labor
Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

British Dictionary definitions for pugnaciously

pugnacious

adjective

readily disposed to fight; belligerent

Derived Formspugnaciously, adverbpugnacity (pʌɡˈnæsɪtɪ) or pugnaciousness, noun

Word Origin for pugnacious

C17: from Latin pugnāx

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pugnaciously

pugnacious

adj.

1640s, a back-formation from pugnacity or else from Latin pugnacis, genitive of pugnax "combative, fond of fighting," from pugnare "to fight," especially with the fists, "contend against," from pugnus "a fist," from PIE *pung-, nasalized form of root *peuk-, *peug- "to stick, stab, to prick" (cf. Greek pyx "with clenched fist," pygme "fist, boxing," pyktes "boxer;" Latin pungere "to pierce, prick").