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An acrimonious meeting or discussion is bitter, resentful, and filled with angry contention.
An affable person is pleasant, friendly, and easy to talk to.
Your antagonist is an opponent in a competition or battle.
Antipathy is a strong feeling of dislike or hostility towards someone or something.
Apathy is a lack of interest or unenthusiastic involvement in an activity; there is no effort to change or improve it at all.
If you are bellicose, you behave in an aggressive way and are likely to start an argument or fight.
A benefaction is a charitable contribution of money or assistance that someone gives to a person or organization.
If you describe someone as benign, they are kind, gentle, and harmless.
Bumptious people are annoying because they are too proud of their abilities or opinions—they are full of themselves.
If someone is granted clemency, they are punished less severely than they could have been—they have been shown mercy.
If someone is complaisant, they are willing to please others and do what they want without complaining.
Conciliation is a process intended to end an argument between two groups of people.
A congenial person, place, or environment is pleasant, friendly, and enjoyable.
When someone is contentious, they are argumentative and likely to provoke a fight.
Dissension is a disagreement or difference of opinion among a group of people that can cause conflict.
Something that is divisive is likely to cause arguments between people.
A small group or issue that is factious is controversial and promotes strong disagreement or dissatisfaction within a larger group.
When two people are in a harmonious state, they are in agreement with each other; when a sound is harmonious, it is pleasant or agreeable to the ear.
If someone is impassive, they are not showing any emotion.
If someone is inimical, they are unfriendly and will likely cause you harm.
Something innocuous is not likely to offend or harm anyone.
An irascible person becomes angry very easily.
Jingoism is excessive nationalism, including the strong belief that your country is better than other countries.
Malice is a type of hatred that causes a strong desire to harm others both physically and emotionally.
If something is noisome, it is extremely unpleasant, especially because it is very dirty or has an awful smell.
A person or group is nonpartisan when it does not support the ideas of any particular political party or group.
If someone is objective, they base their opinions on facts rather than personal feelings or beliefs.
Someone who is obstreperous is noisy, unruly, and difficult to control.
A polemic is a strong written or spoken statement that usually attacks or less often defends a particular idea, opinion, or belief.
Something that is propitious shows favorable conditions.
To act in a pugnacious manner is to act in a combative and aggressive way.
Rancor is a feeling of bitter ill will or intense dislike towards another person.
A truculent person is bad-tempered, easily annoyed, and prone to arguing excessively.
Adj.
belligerent
buh-LIJ-er-uhnt
Context
Randall used to be a belligerent or aggressive bully who threatened students and took things from them. One teacher witnessed Randall’s belligerent or unfriendly attack on another student, so they brought him to the principal to discuss his offensive actions. With time and lots of help, Randall eventually learned to control his belligerent or hostile behavior. Now his belligerent or mean behavior has ended, and instead of enemies, Randall has a few close friends at school.
Quiz:Try again!
What will a belligerent person most likely do in an argument?
Become aggressive and want to fight.
Listen carefully to other viewpoints before speaking.
LigerLentLicence The liger, or belligerent cross between the aggressive lion and the combative tiger, loves the genetic licence of belligerence it has to violently attack its prey.
Examples
If the biggest threat comes from rising powers, such as a belligerent Russia or a pushy China, America and its allies will need to invest in aircraft, ships and advanced weapons to cope.
—
The Economist
Jane Goodall formed incredible bonds with chimpanzees in the wild. 'First they were afraid. Then they became belligerent. And then when I wouldn't go away, ‘Well, I guess she's okay.’ They came to trust,' Goodall said.
—
NPR
If one is belligerent, one “is in a state or condition of bearing, bringing, or carrying war, fighting, or contention” against others.
Word Theater
Portlandia These store owners are being rather belligerent.
The panel shows a small video clip of either the word in actual use or a scene that represents the meaning of a word. This not only breaks up the monotony of studying words but also provides another avenue to strengthen word meaning. Enjoy!
Word Constellation
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Related Words
acrimonious ·
antagonist ·
antipathy ·
bellicose ·
bumptious ·
contentious ·
dissension ·
divisive ·
factious ·
inimical ·
irascible ·
jingoism ·
malice ·
noisome ·
obstreperous ·
polemic ·
pugnacious ·
rancor ·
truculent ·
affable ·
apathy ·
benefaction ·
benign ·
clemency ·
complaisant ·
conciliation ·
congenial ·
harmonious+ ·
impassive ·
innocuous ·
nonpartisan ·
objective ·
propitious ·
Similar sense
Opposite sense
Word Variants
belligerence
n
→
hostility or aggressiveness
The section lists important variants and alternate definitions of the headword. Knowing variants will often help you both remember and understand the word. Not all variants are listed - only the ones we think that are important for you to know.
