| Title | belligerent |
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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary bel·lig·er·ent ETYMOLOGY modification of Latin belligerant-, belligerans, present participle of belligerare to wage war, from belliger waging war, from bellum + gerere to wage DATE 1577 1. waging war; specifically : belonging to or recognized as a state at war and protected by and subject to the laws of war 2. inclined to or exhibiting assertiveness, hostility, or combativeness • belligerent noun • bel·lig·er·ent·ly adverb Synonyms. 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 English Etymology belligerent belligerent (adj.) 1570s, from L. belligerantem (nom. belligerans), pp. of belligerare "to wage war," from bellum "war" + gerere "to bear, to carry." The noun meaning "party or nation at war" is from 1811. Related: Belligerence; belligerency. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 belligerent bel·liger·ent / bE5lidVErEnt / adjective1. unfriendly and aggressive 好斗的；寻衅的；挑衅的 SYN hostile :
a belligerent attitude 寻衅的态度 2. [only before noun] (formal) (of a country 国家) fighting a war 参战的；交战的: the belligerent countries / states / nations 交战各国 • bel·liger·ence / -Ens / noun [U] • bel·liger·ent·ly adv.noun (formal) a country or group that is fighting a war 交战国；交战团体 Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged bel·lig·er·ent I. \-rənt\ adjective Etymology: irregular from Latin belligerant-, belligerans, present participle of belligerare to be at war, from belliger waging war, from bellum war + gerere to wage — more at cast 1. : waging war : carrying on war < belligerent factions > < belligerent powers > specifically : belonging to or recognized as an organized military power protected by and subject to the laws of war < belligerent embassies in neutral countries > < a belligerent nation > — often used of a party in revolt after its establishment of and recognition as a de facto government 2. : inclined to or exhibiting assertiveness, hostility, truculence, or combativeness < an obnoxious, belligerent, argumentative adolescent — Hannah Smith > < such belligerent verbalizing as makes peaceful action more difficult to achieve — H.A.Overstreet > Synonyms: bellicose , pugnacious , combative , contentious , quarrelsome : belligerent may describe a country or group actually at war < a truce of six months between the belligerent parties — W.H.Prescott > Less legalistically, it indicates an aggressive, truculent attitude and connotes very hostile feelings < still fighting some of the battles … and he is at times unnecessarily belligerent — H.S.Commager > < and the most belligerent of all … she who at tea heroically slaughtered not only German men but all their women and viperine children — Sinclair Lewis > bellicose likewise suggests a pronounced inclination to fight < Calhoun joined with Clay in driving through Congress a war policy. In this he seems to have represented his constituents, whose patriotism was always somewhat bellicose — V.L.Parrington > < they were a bellicose people, wielding axes, spears, and clubs against their enemies — John Murra > pugnacious indicates ready and pleasurable willingness to fight < their pugnacious dispositions are well known, and they not only fight among themselves but are incessantly quarreling with their neighbors — John Burroughs > < a certain pugnacious virtue that would inculcate righteousness by means of a broken head — V.L.Parrington > combative may indicate either pertaining to combat or, more positively, willingly ready for combat < combat in the field of sports, contests in various forms of games … are generally approved. The combative impulses in human nature may thus find an expression — M.R.Cohen > < on Mary's face there was … something combative and alert as well. She was still fighting, but Will was obviously beaten — Dorothy Sayers > pugnacious and combative may lack unpleasant connotation; contentious implies a perverse and irritating fondness for arguments and strife < ideal wives are thought to be like sisters or mothers, cherishing and submissive; others are considered contentious — A.L.Kroeber > < his experience with the contentious Dominion council led him often abruptly to silence lengthy and unprofitable debates — Viola F. Barnes > quarrelsome suggests a fretfull ill-natured disposition to quarrel for petty ill-grounded reasons < you also feel very quarrelsome, and you swear at each other in hoarse whispers — J.K.Jerome > < she was such a confounded quarrelsome high-bred jade — W.M.Thackeray > II. noun (-s) : a belligerent nation, state, or person < recognized the Confederacy as a belligerent — W.C.Ford > |
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