as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
a movie reviewer who is spirited, even pugnacious, when defending her opinions
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of pugnacious
But his presence has hollowed out the party, with its gap between a pugnacious grassroots and a lonely elite.
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Selim Koru, Foreign Affairs, 28 June 2016
The Panther organization was smaller and more pugnacious than the A.A.R.P.—a Chihuahua to the A.A.R.P.’s St. Bernard—but shared the larger group’s fixation on highly active seniors.
—Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024
The pugnacious Costello annoyed the judge — at times in view of the jury — by continuing to speak after objections and rolling his eyes.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 May 2024
John Prescott, the pugnacious deputy prime minister to Britain’s Tony Blair during his 10 years in government, has died at age 86 after a battle with Alzheimer’s, his family said Thursday.
—Reuters, NBC News, 21 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pugnacious 
Selim Koru, Foreign Affairs, 28 June 2016
The Panther organization was smaller and more pugnacious than the A.A.R.P.—a Chihuahua to the A.A.R.P.’s St. Bernard—but shared the larger group’s fixation on highly active seniors.
—Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024
The pugnacious Costello annoyed the judge — at times in view of the jury — by continuing to speak after objections and rolling his eyes.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 May 2024
John Prescott, the pugnacious deputy prime minister to Britain’s Tony Blair during his 10 years in government, has died at age 86 after a battle with Alzheimer’s, his family said Thursday.
—Reuters, NBC News, 21 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pugnacious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pugnacious
Adjective
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Take London, which was a clear hotspot (and will continue to be, for some time): Mandarin Oriental opened its second spot in the capital, barely minutes in a limo from its existing Knightsbridge perch, while Maybourne’s soon-to-be aggressive expansion was teed up by the arrival of the sleek Emory.Christopher Cameron, Robb Report, 11 Jan. 2025
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Inter Miami has been aggressive in its global outreach since signing Argentina’s captain Lionel Messi.Melanie Anzidei, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The attacker, a U.S. citizen who had proclaimed his support for the Islamic State militant group, was fatally shot in a firefight with police.Jack Brook and Sara Cline, Los Angeles Times, 7 Jan. 2025
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Citing an unnamed senior Hamas official, the BBC reported on Monday the list it was shown by the Palestinian militant group includes 10 women, as well as young children.Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Both saw themselves as outsiders in a hostile environment.Ruth Margalit, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025
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Aber’s book is successful in showing that self-hatred is the fruit not of a few particular traumas but rather of a hostile environment’s erosive drip on the psyche.Jasmine Vojdani, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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President Joe Biden prioritized student loan forgiveness during his term, introducing broad and contentious programs—challenged by his opponents in the courts—to relieve people of large chunks of their college debt.David Faris, Newsweek, 18 Jan. 2025
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The loud and contentious debate about whether Indiana and SMU deserved CFP at-large bids overshadowed the reality of postseason football in both college and the NFL.Scott Dochterman, The Athletic, 18 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near pugnacious
Cite this Entry
“Pugnacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pugnacious. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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