pug·na·cious

(pŭg-nā′shəs)

adj.

Combative in nature. See Synonyms at belligerent.

[From Latin pugnāx, pugnāc-, from pugnāre, to fight, from pugnus, fist; see peuk- in Indo-European roots.]

pug·na′cious·ly adv.

pug·na′cious·ness, pug·nac′i·ty (-năs′ĭ-tē) n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

pugnacity - a natural disposition to be hostile

belligerence, aggressiveness

disagreeableness - an ill-tempered and offensive disposition

bellicoseness, bellicosity - a natural disposition to fight

truculence, truculency - obstreperous and defiant aggressiveness

pugnacity

noun

1. Warlike or hostile attitude or nature:

bellicoseness, bellicosity, belligerence, belligerency, combativeness, contentiousness, hostility, militance, militancy, pugnaciousness, truculence, truculency.

2. The power or will to fight:

bellicoseness, bellicosity, belligerence, belligerency, combativeness, contentiousness, fight, pugnaciousness, truculence, truculency.

Translations

combattivit...

pugnacity

[pʌgˈnæsɪtɪ] N → pugnacidad f, agresividad f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

pugnacity

[pʌgˈnæsɪti] n → pugnacité f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

pugnacity

n → Kampfeslust f; (verbal) → Streitsüchtigkeit f; (of expression, remark) → Herausforderung f (→ of in +dat); (of support, defence) → Hartnäckigkeit f; (of campaign) → Aggressivität f; the pugnacity of his approach → die Aggressivität seiner Vorgehensweise

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

pugnacity

[pʌgˈnæsɪtɪ] n → combattività, bellicosità

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

I don't know how it is, but since my imprisonment I feel a strange and almost irresistible pugnacity. Well, I shall get at the throat of that old villain, and strangle him."

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Weller, as the first symptoms of his pugnacity disappeared.

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Very much indeed of what we call moral education, he said, is such an artificial modification and perversion of instinct; pugnacity is trained into courageous self-sacrifice, and suppressed sexuality into religious emotion.

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His tone had taken on that shade of pugnacity which suggested to his sister that some personal grievance drove him to take the line he did.

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When Annette, meek, penitent, with all her claws sheathed, came to him and grovelled, he forgave her with a repulsive magnanimity which in a less subdued mood would have stung her to renewed pugnacity. As it was, she allowed herself to be forgiven, and retired with a dismal conviction that from now on he would be more insufferable than ever.

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Thus Mr Snevellicci had no sooner swallowed another glassful than he smiled upon all present in happy forgetfulness of having exhibited symptoms of pugnacity, and proposed 'The ladies!

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Then Fisher suddenly sprang to his feet and caught up his hat and stick with all his new alertness and even pugnacity.

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Though sea gulls are core to the Jersey Shore, the birds that have been hunting the food stalls lining the boardwalk in Ocean City possess an extra level of voracious hunger, a fever pitch of aggression that stands out even in a state where pugnacity is considered a plus.

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"OPEC had better ensure understanding between its members first," he said, adding: "Some neighboring states should stop pugnacity against Iran and appreciate our hand of friendship.

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Our ancestors have bred pugnacity into our bone and marrow, and thousands of years of peace won't breed it out of us."

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