as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
bellicose hockey players who seem to spend more time fighting than playing
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bellicose
Courtesy of Derek Ouellette Trump's bellicose remarks gave a huge boost to Canadian nationalism, with many vowing to boycott the U.S. and its products.
—
Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 1 May 2025
The bellicose posture from a country considered Canada’s closest friend has unleashed a desire to stand up to the United States and a rallying-round-the-flag that has translated into a defiant patriotism.
—Matina Stevis-Gridneff, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
Room for Disagreement There is a case that a less bellicose, less in-your-face flavour of DOGE could work better — and that such changes are easier when they’re not associated with a controversial figure.
—Jim Waterson, semafor.com, 6 June 2025
In 2014, war broke out in the Donbas where my family lived, and Putin’s messaging around Victory Day became much more bellicose, making my family reject the holiday ever since.
—Sasha Vasilyuk, Time, 8 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for bellicose
Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 1 May 2025
The bellicose posture from a country considered Canada’s closest friend has unleashed a desire to stand up to the United States and a rallying-round-the-flag that has translated into a defiant patriotism.
—Matina Stevis-Gridneff, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
Room for Disagreement There is a case that a less bellicose, less in-your-face flavour of DOGE could work better — and that such changes are easier when they’re not associated with a controversial figure.
—Jim Waterson, semafor.com, 6 June 2025
In 2014, war broke out in the Donbas where my family lived, and Putin’s messaging around Victory Day became much more bellicose, making my family reject the holiday ever since.
—Sasha Vasilyuk, Time, 8 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for bellicose
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bellicose
Adjective
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Increasing widespread episodes of violence, threats and aggressive behaviors are taking a toll on nurses, doctors and medical staff, according to the study.—
Bryan Robinson,
Forbes.com,
3 Aug. 2025
-
The corporation counsel must be aggressive in going after companies that cheat city laws.—
Harvey Epstein,
New York Daily News,
3 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Israel declared war on Hamas after the militant group's soldiers launched a surprise attack on the Jewish state, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.—
Lily Kepner,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
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Trump has been uniquely willing to break with Israel on many issues—for instance, by making deals with the Houthi militant group in Yemen and opening a diplomatic dialogue with Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Shara, despite his past alignment with al-Qaeda.—
ZAHA HASSAN,
Foreign Affairs,
29 July 2025
Adjective
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Five days later, on July 8, an attorney for the city manager submitted a letter of potential claim against the city citing defamation, harassment and creation of a hostile work environment.—
Anita Edmondson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 July 2025
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In early October 2022, the ruling said, McCarty filed a hostile work environment complaint with the police department.—
Judy L. Thomas,
Kansas City Star,
25 July 2025
Adjective
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Fittingly, the music is intense, darkly funny, frequently beautiful, absurd, sometimes frightening, belligerent, angry, crazy.—
Will Hermes,
Rolling Stone,
26 July 2025
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When someone has high drive and integrity that are not balanced by other character dimensions, these strengths can become dictatorial, forceful, uncompromising, belligerent, rigid, and dogmatic, among others.—
Mary Crossan,
Forbes.com,
23 July 2025
Adjective
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His warlike actions in Iran, despite campaign promises to the contrary, blatantly bypassed the need to gain approval from the legislative branch of government.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
29 June 2025
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The bottom line: Bipartisanship is the most obvious casualty of Schumer's new warlike posture toward the GOP.—
Hans Nichols,
Axios,
21 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bellicose.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bellicose. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
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