truculence
Americannoun
-
the quality or attitude of being aggressively hostile; belligerence.
The clash has ominously deepened truculence on both sides over ongoing territorial disputes.
The new recruits both appear to have the requisite size, speed, and truculence which their coach demands from his forwards.
-
the quality or condition of being barbarous, cruel, or brutally harsh.
Not only did the dictator manage to stay in power, but his truculence and brutality remained intact.
Etymology
Origin of truculence
First recorded in 1720–30; from Latin truculentia “savageness”; see truculent ( def. ), -ence ( def. )
Explanation
If you get into fights all of the time, you might be accused of truculence and sent for anger management classes. Truculence is showing a fierce kind of aggression. If your basketball team wins a game by sheer truculence, it means that they win not by skill or talent, but by playing with ferocious aggression. It would be a dirty win, one with lots of fouls and thrown elbows. Truculence comes from the Latin word for trux meaning "fierce or wild."
Vocabulary lists containing truculence
Norse Mythology
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East of Eden
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Stories of Ourselves
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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.
The footage shows Liam stalking into a rehearsal studio, truculence personified.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
That failure and the truculence that followed it cost him a lot of goodwill.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
Its approach to union organizing activity may not be entirely welcoming, but seems to lack the truculence and hostility shown by retailers such as Starbucks and Amazon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 1, 2025
Perhaps what the Panthers need is a few more bounces and a little less truculence.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 4, 2023
Instead of returning the salute, Bull stopped the car completely and stared with visible truculence at the guard who held his salute as rigidly as some umpires who call strikes on batters with exaggerated formality.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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.
