bellicose
adjective
Did you know?
Don't War Over the Meaning of Bellicose
Since bellicose describes an attitude that hopes for actual war, the word is generally applied to nations and their leaders. In the 20th century, it was commonly used to describe such figures as Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm, Italy's Benito Mussolini, and Japan's General Tojo, leaders who believed their countries had everything to gain by starting wars. The international relations of a nation with a bellicose foreign policy tend to be stormy and difficult, and bellicosity usually makes the rest of the world very uneasy.
Synonyms
- aggressive
- agonistic
- argumentative
- assaultive
- belligerent
- brawly
- chippy
- combative
- confrontational
- contentious
- discordant
- disputatious
- feisty
- gladiatorial
- militant
- pugnacious
- quarrelsome
- scrappy
- truculent
- warlike
Example Sentences
New Yorker, 24 June 1985 For three centuries Viking raiders haunted western Europe. The bellicose Charlemagne himself felt menaced. Daniel J. Boorstin, The Discoverers, 1983 His evident calm, which always infuriated the opposition, must have irritated the bellicose colonel to a point at which he could control himself no longer. Michael Pearson, Those Damned Rebels, 1972 bellicose hockey players who seem to spend more time fighting than playing New York Times, 29 June 2022 In a flurry of steps at the summit in Madrid, which ends Thursday, President Biden and other NATO leaders sought to respond to President Vladimir Putin’s resurgent and bellicose Russia. Michael D. Shear, BostonGlobe.com, 29 June 2022 And this in the context of bellicose words and actions from Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine and Kim Jong Un's ongoing nuclear rhetoric and actions in nearby North Korea. David A. Andelman, CNN, 4 Aug. 2022 The Kim regime has grown more bellicose in recent months, with a new conservative South Korean administration planning to resume full-scale, joint military exercises with the U.S. next month. Dasl Yoon, WSJ, 28 July 2022 The urgency of this need will become increasingly clear as Russia grows more bellicose in executing its geopolitical strategy. Loren Thompson, Forbes, 5 May 2022 Female leaders appear to be just as bellicose as male ones, if not more so. Grayson Quay, The Week, 29 June 2022 Taken with his bellicose rhetoric, these actions demonstrated that the world could no longer assume that the United States was committed to defending the geopolitical status quo. Daniel Bessner, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022 And Trump, beyond his bellicose and inchoate trade war against China, largely ignored the region, save for a couple of fancy dinners with Kim Jong Un. Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 24 May 2022 See More Word History
Middle English, from Latin bellicosus, from bellicus of war, from bellum war
15th century, in the meaning defined above
bellicose
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- aggressive
- militant
- hostile
- belligerent
- warlike
- assaultive
- contentious
- pugnacious
- confrontational
- irritable
- combative
- acidic
- truculent
- quarrelsome
- ugly
- feisty
- fierce
- savage
- agonistic
- argumentative
- disputatious
- vicious
- discordant
- chippy
- gladiatorial
- scrappy
- rude
- antagonistic
- brawly
- petulant
- fighting
- peevish
- irascible
- querulous
- cross
- warring
- ornery
- snappish
- choleric
- bilious
- dyspeptic
- fretful
- waspish
- testy
- disagreeable
- grouchy
- surly
- fractious
- on the warpath
- grumpy
- hot-tempered
- huffy
- bristly
- ill-tempered
- crabby
- stroppy
- pettish
- touchy
- bearish
- ill-humored
- battling
- cranky
- ill-natured
- prickly
- snappy
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- peaceable
- nonbelligerent
- peaceful
- nonaggressive
- conciliatory
- unwarlike
- pacific
- amiable
- benevolent
- friendly
- affable
- ingratiating
- genial
- complaisant
- antimilitarist
- cordial
- pleasant
- gracious
- easygoing
- amicable
- uncontentious
- sociable
- calm
- kindhearted
- anti-imperialist
- quiet
- uncombative
- unbelligerent
- serene
- gentle
- obliging
- tranquil
- benign
- mild
- good-natured
- relaxed
- good-tempered
- kindly
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of bellicose are belligerent, contentious, pugnacious, and quarrelsome. While all these words mean "having an aggressive or fighting attitude," bellicose suggests a disposition to fight.
In some situations, the words belligerent and bellicose are roughly equivalent. However, belligerent often implies being actually at war or engaged in hostilities.
Although the words contentious and bellicose have much in common, contentious implies perverse and irritating fondness for arguing and quarreling.
The words pugnacious and bellicose can be used in similar contexts, but pugnacious suggests a disposition that takes pleasure in personal combat.
While the synonyms quarrelsome and bellicose are close in meaning, quarrelsome stresses an ill-natured readiness to fight without good cause.