belligerence
noun
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Belligerent, Belligerents, and Belligerence
Belligerent may function as either an adjective or a noun. As an adjective, it has two primary meanings, each of which corresponds to the two senses of its noun form.
The older sense (“waging war”) is generally used to refer to the actions or combatants of a nation at war, or to the nation itself ("belligerent operations"; "belligerent troops"; “the belligerent state”); it is paralleled by the earliest sense of the noun, “a nation at war” (“the belligerents assembled at the peace conference”). The second sense of belligerent (“inclined to or exhibiting assertiveness, hostility, or combativeness”), which usually applies to persons or animals, or to their attitudes or actions, likewise parallels the second sense of the noun (“a person taking part in a fight”). A related noun belligerence refers to “an aggressive or truculent attitude, atmosphere, or disposition” that can be either individual or global.
Synonyms
Examples of belligerence in a Sentence
Anna Mulrine Grobe, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Apr. 2024
Cooper stopped short of accusing Iran of directing individual missile and drone attacks, but said the strikes demonstrated clearly that Iran's belligerence was expanding across the region.
—Harold Maass, theweek, 23 Jan. 2024
With the exception of belligerence, Wallace considers even the most benign audience offering an opportunity.
—Beatrice Hazlehurst, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024
Biden used to be capable of extemporaneous belligerence.
—Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 12 Feb. 2024
Yet the myth has endured and Perry’s successor, Greg Abbott, has not only picked up that break-away pluck in recent weeks, he’s escalated it to the point of belligerence.
—TIME, 1 Feb. 2024
The strategic value of the axis to Tehran has grown over the past eight years because of Washington’s increasing belligerence.
—Narges Bajoghli, Foreign Affairs, 17 Jan. 2024
Lee Jin-man/AP South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s team has struck a frank and ominous tone in response to North Korea’s combination of belligerence and improving missile arsenal.
—Joel Gehrke, Washington Examiner, 15 Dec. 2023
De Niro’s persistent Trump-bashing belligerence is a form of idiotic, bullying cowardice.
—Armond White, National Review, 6 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'belligerence.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near belligerence
Cite this Entry
“Belligerence.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/belligerence. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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belligerence
noun
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