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bel·lig·er·ent (bə-lĭjər-ənt)
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adj.
1. Inclined or eager to fight; hostile or aggressive.
2. Of, pertaining to, or engaged in warfare.
n.
One that is hostile or aggressive, especially one that is engaged in war.

[Latin belligerāns, belligerant-, present participle of belligerāre, to wage war, from belliger, warlike : bellum, war + gerere, to make.]

bel·liger·ent·ly adv.

Synonyms: belligerent, bellicose, pugnacious, combative
These adjectives mean having or showing an eagerness to fight. Belligerent refers to a tendency to hostile behavior: A belligerent reporter badgered the politician.
Bellicose describes a warlike or hostile manner or temperament: "Madison, far from being pushed into war by a bellicose Congress, had to drag his own hesitant party into it" (Garry Wills).
Pugnacious suggests a natural disposition to fight: A good litigator needs a pugnacious intellect.
Combative implies an eagerness to fight or resist: The senator made a combative defense of his record during the debate.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.