as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
a movie reviewer who is spirited, even pugnacious, when defending her opinions
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pugnacious
Progressives have delivered a generally meek response to the situation in what’s becoming a departure from their pugnacious style of politics.
—
Hanna Trudo, The Hill, 21 Feb. 2025
It’s been a wonky stretch for the Magic, who looked like pugnacious early-season darlings in December.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025
Yet Max Is Free For 7 Days With This Prime Video Promo
The pugnacious pair hightail it to Danny’s hometown of Belfast, Ireland to make contact with their handler William (Tony Hirst) and his henchwoman Simone (Kate Katzman).
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 20 Feb. 2025
The pugnacious response followed Trump’s surprising comments Tuesday that Ukraine was responsible for Russia’s invasion of the country three years ago.
—Kaylah Jackson, NBC News, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pugnacious
Hanna Trudo, The Hill, 21 Feb. 2025
It’s been a wonky stretch for the Magic, who looked like pugnacious early-season darlings in December.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025
Yet Max Is Free For 7 Days With This Prime Video Promo
The pugnacious pair hightail it to Danny’s hometown of Belfast, Ireland to make contact with their handler William (Tony Hirst) and his henchwoman Simone (Kate Katzman).
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 20 Feb. 2025
The pugnacious response followed Trump’s surprising comments Tuesday that Ukraine was responsible for Russia’s invasion of the country three years ago.
—Kaylah Jackson, NBC News, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pugnacious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pugnacious
Adjective
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More likely than an all-out boycott, say attorneys, is a new era in which taxpayers and their accountants push the envelope with aggressive tax-planning techniques that may escape the review of an understaffed agency.—
Robert Frank,
CNBC,
17 Apr. 2025
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Even though Trump showed signs of softening his aggressive tariff plan with an exemption last week for smartphones, computers and other electronics and floated a temporary exemption for autos, the administration continues to be amadamant more tariffs are coming soon.—
Medora Lee,
USA Today,
17 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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The implementation was originally blocked in federal court and sparked a contentious legal back-and-forth.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Apr. 2025
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Some of his actions have been highly contentious, including his decision to deport migrants to an El Salvadorian prison using an 18th century wartime statute — which was subject to legal challenges.—
Brendan Rascius,
Miami Herald,
23 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pugnacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pugnacious. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
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