as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
the player became quite belligerent and was thrown out of the game
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in combatant
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of belligerent
Gina Ragusa, EW.com, 3 Feb. 2025
Lincoln Financial Field is a nightmare for opposing teams given Eagles fans are boisterous and belligerent.
—Richard Deitsch, The Athletic, 16 Jan. 2025
American companies cannot hire nationals of the belligerent nation due to sanctions.
—Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2025
China is less blatantly belligerent toward South Korea.
—Robert E. Kelly, Foreign Affairs, 30 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for belligerent
Adjective
While breaking that rule was bad enough, King became belligerent when Captain Glenn busted him for drinking too much.
—Gina Ragusa, EW.com, 3 Feb. 2025
Lincoln Financial Field is a nightmare for opposing teams given Eagles fans are boisterous and belligerent.
—Richard Deitsch, The Athletic, 16 Jan. 2025
American companies cannot hire nationals of the belligerent nation due to sanctions.
—Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2025
China is less blatantly belligerent toward South Korea.
—Robert E. Kelly, Foreign Affairs, 30 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for belligerent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for belligerent
Adjective
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With Oklahoma City, currently the best and most aggressive defense in the league by a wide margin, there isn’t just one candidate.—
Shane Young,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2025
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Read more: Rams and Matthew Stafford Agree on Restructured Deal to Keep Him in LA The Raiders were reportedly the most aggressive team and had a lucrative offer on the table to land Stafford.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Israel’s military offensive has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.—
Mohammad Jahjouh,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Mar. 2025
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The military has killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.—
Mick Krever,
CNN,
24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The militant group has said that the move would affect the remaining hostages as well.—
Wafaa Shurafa,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Mar. 2025
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In December, a coalition of opposition fighters led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took over cities and eventually Damascus as regime forces retreated.—
Jane Arraf,
NPR,
7 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The authoritarian manosphere is organized around a hierarchy topped by heroic male warriors.—
Robert B. Reich,
Hartford Courant,
4 Mar. 2025
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The Dan Bongino Show, Feb. 2, 2024 'The left is evil' Throughout his media career, Bongino has portrayed himself as a fierce partisan warrior.—
Nick McMillan,
NPR,
3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The set-up has grown increasingly hostile over time, and became an impassible roadblock when the Lerner family tried to sell the Nationals back in 2022.—
Scott Soshnick,
Sportico.com,
4 Mar. 2025
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Prince overcame the hostile environment and kept TCU afloat during the first quarter when the Horned Frogs struggled to find their footing offensively.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
3 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Most of the civilians were killed by government soldiers.—
Ross O'Keefe,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
8 Mar. 2025
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Watch Captain America: The First Avenger on Disney+ Captain Marvel Vers (Brie Larson) is a soldier from the Kree Empire’s planet Hala.—
Jacqueline Weiss,
People.com,
8 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Then troopers and sheriff's deputies, some on horseback, attacked, beating people with batons and launching tear gas canisters.—
Marisa Peñaloza,
NPR,
9 Mar. 2025
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State troopers violently attacked the unarmed demonstrators with batons and tear gas — images that shocked the nation and prompted President Lyndon Johnson to give an emergency address to Congress.—
Delano Massey,
Axios,
8 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Image Their redeployment was agreed to in a deal signed 12 years ago, the result of negotiations and renegotiations going back to 1995, when three U.S. servicemen raped an Okinawan schoolgirl.—
Martin Fackler,
New York Times,
18 Feb. 2025
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Tracing Josiah’s trajectory from lumberjack to shipyard riveter to ambitious serviceman, Wang offers a protagonist of unflappable morality and decency.—
The New Yorker,
The New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Belligerent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belligerent. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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