pugnacious en · ADJ
Pronunciation
Etymology
From the stem of Latin pugnāx + -ous, from pugnō (“to fight”), from pugnus (“fist”). By surface analysis, Latin pugn- + -acious.
Meanings
-
Naturally aggressive or hostile; combative; belligerent; bellicose.
As he made the demand he spat out a mouthful of blood and teeth and shoved his pugnacious face close to Oofty-Oofty.
1904, Jack London, chapter 15, in The Sea-Wolf (Macmillan’s Standard Library), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC:Of course the Johnston swings around to engage the entire flotilla, and, despite taking several more hits, Johnston successfully forces away the first two ships, which leads to the entire squadron taking a detour to avoid the single pugnacious ship.
2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 29:50 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?, archived from the original on 03 Nov 2022:In the face of bad news Churchill normally became even more pugnacious, always wanting to respond to defeat by going on the attack.
2003, Ken Follett, Hornet Flight, →ISBN, pages 249–250:Not that the doctor was a bully, or even pugnacious, in the usual sense of the word; he had no disposition to provoke a fight, no propense love of quarrelling.
1858, Anthony Trollope, chapter 3, in Doctor Thorne. […], volume I, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 53:In a speech this weekend, Ms. Le Pen suggested that her “pugnacious” young protégé, Jordan Bardella, who is one of the most popular politicians in France, was ready to become prime minister.
2025 September 8, Roger Cohen, “French Prime Minister Bayrou Loses Confidence Vote, Putting Pressure on Macron”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:[I]n the 575 days since [Oscar] Pistorius shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, there has been an unseemly scramble to construct revisionist histories, to identify evidence beneath that placid exterior of a pugnacious, hair-trigger personality.
2014 October 21, Oliver Brown, “Oscar Pistorius jailed for five years – sport afforded no protection against his tragic fallibilities: Bladerunner's punishment for killing Reeva Steenkamp is but a frippery when set against the burden that her bereft parents, June and Barry, must carry [print version: No room for sentimentality in this tragedy, 13 September 2014, p. S22]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Sport):
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more pugnacious | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most pugnacious | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Deriveds
unpugnacious · pugnaciously · pugnaciousness
Relateds
repugnant · pugilism · pugnacity · repugn · poniard · impugn
Translations (41)
de kämpferisch (aggressive, belligerent) · oc pugnaç (aggressive, belligerent) · es pugnaz (aggressive, belligerent) · pl zadzierzysty (aggressive, belligerent) · de kampfeslustig (aggressive, belligerent) · bg свадлив (aggressive, belligerent) · nl vechtlustig (aggressive, belligerent) · ga trodach (aggressive, belligerent) · nl strijdlustig (aggressive, belligerent) · ca pugnaç (aggressive, belligerent) · de rauflustig (aggressive, belligerent) · fi taistelunhaluinen (aggressive, belligerent) · sh ratoboran (aggressive, belligerent) · gl pugnaz (aggressive, belligerent) · nb stridslysten (aggressive, belligerent) · sv stridslysten (aggressive, belligerent) · pt pugnace (aggressive, belligerent) · pl czupurny (aggressive, belligerent) · it pugnace (aggressive, belligerent) · ru драчли́вый (aggressive, belligerent) · fr pugnace (aggressive, belligerent) · mi pukungangare (aggressive, belligerent) · de streitsüchtig (aggressive, belligerent) · nl vijandig (aggressive, belligerent) · de kampflustig (aggressive, belligerent) · de streitlustig (aggressive, belligerent) · cmn 好戰的 /好战的 (aggressive, belligerent) · pt pugnaz (aggressive, belligerent) · sh ратоборан (aggressive, belligerent) · pl zadziorny (aggressive, belligerent) · de aggressiv (aggressive, belligerent) · cmn 好鬥的 /好斗的 (aggressive, belligerent) · pt belicoso (aggressive, belligerent) · mi ririhau (aggressive, belligerent) · pl zawadiacki (aggressive, belligerent) · pl wojowniczy (aggressive, belligerent) · kk сотқар (aggressive, belligerent) · kk төбелесшіл (aggressive, belligerent) · kk төбелескіш (aggressive, belligerent) · la pugnāx (aggressive, belligerent) · pl awanturniczy (aggressive, belligerent)