Belligerent
Drunk uncles at weddings, comment sections after midnight, and nations before treaties share this posture: spoiling for a fight.
Learn This WordMeaning
Hostile and aggressive; ready or eager to fight or argue.
Memory trick
BELLI holds bellum, Latin for war: belligerent = war-minded.
Examples
After the second cancelled flight, the crowd at the gate turned openly belligerent.
His belligerent tone ended the negotiation before lunch.
The belligerent stray growled at every dog that passed the fence.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From Latin belligerare "to wage war," from bellum "war" + gerere "to carry on, wage."
Usage Notes
Stronger than assertive: it implies looking for a fight, not just standing firm.
Real-life contexts
Describe crowds: "The fans turned belligerent after the call."
Describe tone: "Drop the belligerent act and state your case."
Describe animals: "Give a belligerent dog space, not eye contact."
Common Mistakes
As a noun it names a warring nation or party. Do not use it for ordinary rudeness.
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Start LearningQuick Facts
Part of Speech
adjective
Difficulty
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