1
as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
die-hard fans who became truculent and violent after their team's loss
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in abusive
marked by harsh insulting language
a theater critic who was notorious for his titanically truculent reviews
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in brutal
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others
played the role of a disturbed and truculent villain
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Recent Examples of truculent
Is some planet somewhere pulling in the wrong direction, like a truculent mule?
—
James Parker, The Atlantic, 24 Dec. 2024
Deda’s son, Karel (a terrific turn from Karel Martinec, the filmmaker’s own father) is an ornery recent widower who is truculent with his two adult daughters Lucie (Pavlína Balner) and Romana (Karin Bilíková).
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 5 July 2024
Needing Maher’s truculent approval to sustain their own arguments, they’re defined by their enemy.
—Armond White, National Review, 7 June 2024
Little kids squirm in makeshift beds trying to stay awake for Santa, while truculent teenagers sneak out into the suburban night to do secret teenager things.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 17 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for truculent
James Parker, The Atlantic, 24 Dec. 2024
Deda’s son, Karel (a terrific turn from Karel Martinec, the filmmaker’s own father) is an ornery recent widower who is truculent with his two adult daughters Lucie (Pavlína Balner) and Romana (Karin Bilíková).
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 5 July 2024
Needing Maher’s truculent approval to sustain their own arguments, they’re defined by their enemy.
—Armond White, National Review, 7 June 2024
Little kids squirm in makeshift beds trying to stay awake for Santa, while truculent teenagers sneak out into the suburban night to do secret teenager things.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 17 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for truculent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for truculent
Adjective
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The corporation counsel must be aggressive in going after companies that cheat city laws.—
Harvey Epstein,
New York Daily News,
3 Aug. 2025
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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
Adjective
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The women's arrests uncovered a pattern of abusive teaching by Hildebrandt, and confirmed growing suspicions of critics who long questioned Franke’s strict parenting style on her popular 8 Passengers family vlogging page on YouTube.—
Sean Neumann,
People.com,
28 July 2025
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This version of Trump is a lawsuit-happy hedonist who is literally in bed with Satan (in South Park, Satan is something of a lost soul, often ending up in abusive relationships).—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
26 July 2025
Adjective
-
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by USA Today, the 21-year-old approached a woman from behind at a self-checkout lane at a Walmart in Tennessee, and launched into a brutal attack.—
Amber Corrine,
VIBE.com,
23 July 2025
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This created a growing population of vulnerable, undocumented workers in the 1960s and ’70s who increasingly faced brutal apprehensions.—
Jimmy Patino,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 July 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
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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And then, especially in the past several years, friends who stayed say: Honestly, this is kind of insulting—the way people keep talking about Lebanon from afar.—
Sahar Delijani
July 17,
Literary Hub,
17 July 2025
-
The deliberate and insulting call-out immediately sent the wrestling world into a frenzy.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 July 2025
Adjective
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In an inordinately cowardly and cruel act, Rubio stayed away from the department that day, ignoring the men and women whose careers and life plans were decimated by his flippant decision-making.—
Lynn Northcutt Vega,
Sun Sentinel,
29 July 2025
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A little more than a year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a decision from the Ninth Circuit that determined a ban on people sleeping in public was constitutionally cruel and unusual.—
Natalie Eilbert,
jsonline.com,
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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For all his outrageous behavior and near-fatal travails, much of Osbourne’s appeal stemmed from his everyman persona as a working-class-hero-turned-multimillionaire who couldn’t believe his good luck.—
George Varga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 July 2025
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The world is still a familiar one: Patricia Field’s styling ghost haunts every outrageous outfit choice and Carrie’s heels still clack satisfyingly on the sidewalk.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
23 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Truculent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/truculent. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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