How to Use pugnacious in a Sentence

pugnacious

adjective

• There's one pugnacious member on the committee who won't agree to anything.
• The pugnacious chaos of the Trump White House was over.
  — BostonGlobe.com, 24 Aug. 2021
• And there seemed to be absolutely no one on the flight who was the least bit pugnacious.
  — Ellyn Laub, sun-sentinel.com, 4 Nov. 2021
• But look out for that slope — which might lead to the Fightin’ Irish and their little, pugnacious guy.
  — Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 26 Aug. 2021
• Provocative and at times pugnacious, Peterson proved to be the man for the moment.
  — Kyle Smith, National Review, 30 Oct. 2019
• The pugnacious skater’s on-ice DNA is catered perfectly for the frenzied fracas set to play out over the next few weeks.
  — Conor Ryan, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Apr. 2023
• Gibbs was joined by the great DJ-producer the Alchemist for his pugnacious, heaving set of hard-nosed hip-hop.
  — Elias Leight, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2021
• War with Britain’s pugnacious press marks a sharp change in Labour strategy.
  — The Economist, 22 Feb. 2018
• Prison became a way of dealing with pugnacious Black youth.
  — Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, The New Yorker, 24 June 2021
• Christie, who was governor at the time, took a pugnacious approach to the policy fight.
  — Matt Ford, The New Republic, 26 Jan. 2023
• Trump has a compulsion to counter-attack and is very pugnacious.
  — Stephen Collinson, CNN, 19 June 2017
• In place of the pugnacious Wayne Rooney is Harry Kane, a soft-spoken goal machine on the verge of superstardom.
  — Sean Williams, The New Republic, 10 July 2018
• Muster was almost Nadal-like in his grinding, pugnacious play.
  — Jon Wertheim, SI.com, 17 Jan. 2018
• These dogs are — forgive me — a pretty pugnacious bunch.
  — Justin Chang, latimes.com, 21 Mar. 2018
• With new tires on day three, the fresh grip erased three seconds of lap time, putting this pugnacious little hatch ahead of the lighter Veloster N and Elantra N, the latter of which didn't get its new tires in time.
  — Dave Vanderwerp, Car and Driver, 7 Feb. 2023
• Kaufmann, in his translations, brought to bear a strong, pugnacious style.
  — Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2019
• Flared fenders, pugnacious grille, flat hood, long roof and greenhouse.
  — Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press, 2 June 2021
• Gone is the pugnacious battler carrying around a career full of angst.
  — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 14 July 2023
• To be sure, the pugnacious poet had his moments of assurance.
  — Washington Post, 25 Feb. 2021
• That's a quote from Jesse Kelly, a pugnacious right-wing talking head, on Tucker Carlson's show last week.
  — Ross Douthat New York Times, Star Tribune, 30 Mar. 2021
• But Blackjack wears a pugnacious Holden front end grafted to a C7 cabin that leads to the suggestion of a pickup bed.
  — Ezra Dyer, Popular Mechanics, 19 July 2019
• Even great whites have been observed with the tell-tale round wounds of a cookie cutter bite, and the pugnacious hunters have been known to disable nuclear submarines.
  — Steven Hill, Field & Stream, 26 July 2023
• When confronted about his pugnacious on-air style, O’Reilly points out that Wallace’s question is like the pot calling the kettle black.
  — Michael O'Sullivan, Twin Cities, 8 Aug. 2019
• People who live here take pride in a kind of pugnacious, underdog spirit.
  — Gustavo Arellano, latimes.com, 30 June 2019
• Now a pugnacious preteen, Harper gets kicked out of the school musical for whaling on a classmate.
  — Time, 24 Aug. 2023
• At a news conference on the eve of last year’s Masters Tournament, reporters were treated to the last of those looks — a grinning but pugnacious Woods.
  — Photographs By Doug Mills, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2023
• That meant a matchup with pugnacious Rockets point guard Patrick Beverly, who arrived at the arena with blood in his nostrils.
  — Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 21 Dec. 2021
• The pugnacious forward scored four goals and racked up 70 hits with Boston during the regular season.
  — Conor Ryan, BostonGlobe.com, 15 May 2023
• In a dark suit, white shirt and striped tie, Mr. Houchen was confident and pugnacious, accusing critics of peddling conspiracies.
  — Stephen Castle, New York Times, 1 May 2024
• Tiny, pugnacious Keenan-Bolger plays Martha like a jackhammer, carrying the tension of her upbringing in her shoulders; Parsons fills up the space with huge looping gestures.
  — Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 2 May 2024

Last Updated: 19 Sep 2024