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
The city’s residents tired of D’Annunzio’s reckless rule, and his bellicose posturing and expansionist maneuvers discomfited the Italian monarchy.
—
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2025
Majdi Fathi / NurPhoto / Getty Images Israel’s defense minister issued a bellicose statement, threatening that the military would once again begin evacuating civilians from combat zones.
—Matt Bradley, NBC News, 19 Mar. 2025
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has accused the United States and South Korea of increasing tensions with their joint drills and Pyongyang often responds with bellicose threats.
—Yoonjung Seo, CNN, 6 Mar. 2025
American presidents, Republicans and Democrats alike, typically struck a more bellicose tone on the threat posed by an emboldened Russia.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 3 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bellicose
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2025
Majdi Fathi / NurPhoto / Getty Images Israel’s defense minister issued a bellicose statement, threatening that the military would once again begin evacuating civilians from combat zones.
—Matt Bradley, NBC News, 19 Mar. 2025
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has accused the United States and South Korea of increasing tensions with their joint drills and Pyongyang often responds with bellicose threats.
—Yoonjung Seo, CNN, 6 Mar. 2025
American presidents, Republicans and Democrats alike, typically struck a more bellicose tone on the threat posed by an emboldened Russia.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 3 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bellicose
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bellicose
Adjective
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But in recent weeks, Musk dramatically lowered his taxpayer savings estimates from DOGE's government cuts, disagreed publicly with Trump's aggressive tariff policies and butted heads with multiple Trump officials, some publicly, revealing divisions within the White House over Musk's influence.—
Joey Garrison,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2025
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But last year, he was diagnosed with Richter’s Syndrome, another aggressive form of lymphoma, just before he was set to embark on a set of U.S. shows.—
Ethan Millman,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The attack at Pahalgam on Tuesday was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), which is an offshoot of Pakistan's Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Apr. 2025
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However, Pakistan denied any connection to the attack, which was claimed by a militant group that called itself the Kashmir Resistance.—
Greg Norman,
FOXNews.com,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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John Shine described to me a research trip to the hostile mountain environs of Tasmania, where snakes stay under cover except for the 20 or 30 warm days each year.—
Stephen S. Hall,
Time,
21 Apr. 2025
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Union members shared other experiences and stories, including those of an increasingly hostile work environment for some.—
Molly Guthrey,
Twin Cities,
19 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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He’s paired, in dance and as a love interest, with a belligerent Parisian principal, Gabin Roux (Ivan du Pontavice).—
Judy Berman,
Time,
23 Apr. 2025
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This term around, Trump has spoken in belligerent tones.—
Jay Nordlinger,
National Review,
21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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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
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Freyja, however, is a more warlike goddess, and even has a part in selecting warriors for her hall in the afterlife.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes,
2 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bellicose.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bellicose. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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