belligerent

adjective

bel·​lig·​er·​ent bə-ˈlij-rənt How to pronounce belligerent (audio)
-ˈli-jə-
1
: inclined to or exhibiting assertiveness, hostility, or combativeness
2
: waging war
specifically : belonging to or recognized as a state at war and protected by and subject to the laws of war
belligerent noun
belligerently adverb

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Belligerent, Belligerents, and Belligerence

Belligerent may function as either an adjective or a noun. As an adjective, it has two primary meanings, each of which corresponds to the two senses of its noun form.

The older sense (“waging war”) is generally used to refer to the actions or combatants of a nation at war, or to the nation itself ("belligerent operations"; "belligerent troops"; “the belligerent state”); it is paralleled by the earliest sense of the noun, “a nation at war” (“the belligerents assembled at the peace conference”). The second sense of belligerent (“inclined to or exhibiting assertiveness, hostility, or combativeness”), which usually applies to persons or animals, or to their attitudes or actions, likewise parallels the second sense of the noun (“a person taking part in a fight”). A related noun belligerence refers to “an aggressive or truculent attitude, atmosphere, or disposition” that can be either individual or global.

Choose the Right Synonym for belligerent

belligerent, bellicose, pugnacious, quarrelsome, contentious mean having an aggressive or fighting attitude.

belligerent often implies being actually at war or engaged in hostilities.

belligerent nations

bellicose suggests a disposition to fight.

a drunk in a bellicose mood

pugnacious suggests a disposition that takes pleasure in personal combat.

a pugnacious gangster

quarrelsome stresses an ill-natured readiness to fight without good cause.

the heat made us all quarrelsome

contentious implies perverse and irritating fondness for arguing and quarreling.

wearied by his contentious disposition

Examples of belligerent in a Sentence

… it took very little alcohol to make him belligerent, and he became even more thuggish and incoherent when he threw in a few sleeping pills as well. Christopher Hitchens, New York Times Book Review, 8 Oct. 2000
Coots are belligerent, territorial, quick-tempered birds. Nothing irritates a coot like another coot … Kenneth Brower, Smithsonian, December 1998
Instead, we revered the guys on the streets, the thugs who were brazen and belligerent. They wore their hats backwards, left their belt buckles unfastened and shoelaces untied. Nathan McCall, Washington Post, 25-31 Mar. 1991
She was a brigantine, a small two-masted vessel, refitted for belligerent action in the newly created American Navy. Barbara W. Tuchman, The First Salute, 1988
He was drunk and belligerent. the player became quite belligerent and was thrown out of the game
Recent Examples on the Web Earlier in February, a belligerent JetBlue passenger who appeared to be intoxicated on a flight from London to New York City was held down by other customers after the man began acting aggressively toward crew members. Erin Clements, Peoplemag, 1 Mar. 2024 At some point after waking up, Rodriguez-Jalapa allegedly became belligerent and threatened the officers. Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 23 Feb. 2024 The two most belligerent housewives, Monica, formerly Jen's assistant, and Lisa, have said literally the worst things to each other, making the relationship between Moore's Gracie and Portman's Elizabeth look like Sunday school. Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 5 Dec. 2023 Though none of these incidents involved direct harm to any humans, the belligerent behavior caused a stir, prompting many to once again question the threat marine mammals pose to humans. Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 21 Feb. 2024 Such a revered figure due to his belligerent batting at the top of the order and calm but steely leadership, Rohit has one more chance to lift one of cricket's most prestigious trophies and cement his name in Indian cricket lore. Tristan Lavalette, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 Soon after its initial rollout in February 2023, users noticed the chatbot exhibited some belligerent tendencies — such as threatening an Associated Press reporter and disparaging their physical appearance. Angela Yang, NBC News, 30 Jan. 2024 The reasons these countries want to bolster security is obvious, given their proximity to a belligerent. Luke McGee, CNN, 15 Feb. 2024 The right watch party calls for TVs, great food and drinks and the right environment of fans — into the game, without being belligerent. Benjy Egel, Sacramento Bee, 8 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'belligerent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

modification of Latin belligerant-, belligerans, present participle of belligerare to wage war, from belliger waging war, from bellum war + gerere to wage

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of belligerent was in 1577

Dictionary Entries Near belligerent

Cite this Entry

“Belligerent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/belligerent. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

belligerent

adjective
bel·​lig·​er·​ent bə-ˈlij(-ə)-rənt How to pronounce belligerent (audio)
1
: waging war
belligerent nations
2
: eager to or showing eagerness to fight
belligerent remarks
belligerent noun
belligerently adverb

Legal Definition

belligerent

1 of 2 adjective
bel·​lig·​er·​ent bə-ˈli-jə-rənt How to pronounce belligerent (audio)
1
: waging war : carrying on war
specifically : belonging to or recognized as an organized military power protected by and subject to the laws of war
2
: inclined to or exhibiting hostility or a combative temperament

belligerent

2 of 2 noun
: a belligerent nation, state, or person

More from Merriam-Webster on belligerent

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