gladiatorial

adjective

Definition of gladiatorialnext
as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight not a reasoned discussion but a shouting match between gladiatorial pundits from opposite ends of the political spectrum

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for gladiatorial
  1. aggressive
  2. militant
  3. contentious
  4. hostile
  5. agonistic
  6. warlike
  7. combative
Adjective
  • Kristin talks with peers, peers’ parents, and every staff member, explaining how the dog is trained, how to behave around it, and soothing any worries regarding potential aggressive actions.
    Ethan Stone, USA TODAY, 13 Dec. 2024
  • What drove a lot of interest and buzz around the movie was a reported real-life feud between Blake Lively and star/director Justin Baldoni, which featured things like dramatic press tours, people not following people on Instagram and some passive aggressive press comments.
    Paul Tassi, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
Definition of aggressive
Adjective
  • Iran continues to play a key role in regional conflicts, supporting militant groups including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, further complicating its diplomatic relations.
    Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024
  • However, the militant group cautioned that hurdles remain.
    Sophie Tanno, CNN, 19 Dec. 2024
Definition of militant
Adjective
  • Growing up, millennials experienced contentious 2000 and 2008 U.S. presidential elections, the events of September 11, 2001, a war on terror that cost trillions and lasted two decades, and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
    Tim Ryan, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024
  • What’s more, the dynamics for Big Media and Big Tech are complicated by the fact that Trump has had a contentious relationship with major players in both sectors.
    Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 18 Dec. 2024
Definition of contentious
Adjective
  • In story mode, there are a few other people to find on the island, some of whom will be helpful and others hostile.
    Jason Bennett, arkansasonline.com, 15 Dec. 2024
  • Trump’s power derives from his ability to sow fear — fear that his administration will deport our immigrant neighbors, arrest opponents, attack LGBTQ+ rights, ban vaccines, and command the military to invade hostile cities.
    Joe Mathews, The Mercury News, 13 Dec. 2024
Definition of hostile
Adjective
  • The kitchen remains bloody and agonistic, demanding the preparation of yet another family meal.
    E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 14 July 2023
  • The agonistic, Faulknerian circumstances fill the house with awful silences.
    Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 21 Dec. 2022
Definition of agonistic
Adjective
  • Some characters die violently in a warlike atmosphere, and the remaining ones struggle with their losses.
    Common Sense Media, Washington Post, 12 July 2024
  • China is constantly searching for opportunities to take bits of territory and catch its opponent by surprise, without taking overt warlike actions.
    Brahma Chellaney, Foreign Affairs, 2 Apr. 2021
Definition of warlike
Adjective
  • The combative environment engendered a grim sort of gallows humor.
    Jason Parham, WIRED, 13 Dec. 2024
  • Orlando’s power provider plans to vote Tuesday on revamping its billing structure, changing incentives for when and how customers consume power, which has fueled a combative controversy over what’s best for local solar energy and electricity users.
    Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel, 9 Dec. 2024
Definition of combative
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near gladiatorial

gladiator

gladiatorial

gladiators

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Gladiatorial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gladiatorial. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

Point of View: It's Personal

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Words You Always Have to Look Up
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
naughty or nice
Are you naughty or nice? Quiz He's making a quiz, and checking it twice...