belligerent
Hostile and aggressive in attitude or behavior
Examples
In a meeting
“The client's belligerent tone made productive negotiation impossible.”
Over coffee
“He gets belligerent after a few drinks.”
Why this word
aggressive
belligerent means hostile and eager to fight, while aggressive broadly means forceful or assertive
hostile
belligerent emphasizes combative readiness to fight, while hostile means unfriendly opposition
angry
belligerent describes confrontational fighting attitude, while angry is simply the emotion of displeasure
Usage tip
Use to describe aggressively hostile behavior that creates conflict. Strong term that suggests unreasonable combativeness.
Etymology
Latin 'belligerantem' (waging war), from 'bellum' (war) + 'gerere' (wage, carry on)
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