belligerence

noun

bel·​lig·​er·​ence bə-ˈlij--ˈli-jə-rən(t)s 

-ˈlij-

: an aggressive or truculent attitude, atmosphere, or disposition

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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

• aggression
• aggressiveness
• assaultiveness
• bellicosity
• belligerency
• combativeness
• contentiousness
• defiance
• disputatiousness
• feistiness
• fight
• militance
• militancy
• militantness
• pugnacity
• quarrelsomeness
• scrappiness
• truculence

Examples of belligerence in a Sentence

the dominant male wolf was able to withstand the belligerence of younger challengers

Recent Examples on the Web

Homan displays the sort of belligerence that attracts Trump, but a big question is how far the border czar will go to carry out his mandate. —Chloe Berger, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2024

Australia’s defense spending exceeds the two-percent threshold and the country has big increases planned for the future, but defense experts in Australia have warned that these increases are all scheduled several years from now, which may be too late to deter Chinese belligerence in the near term. —Michael Green, Foreign Affairs, 19 Nov. 2024

His belligerence could come directly from the two New York tabloid heroes of his formative years in the city: John Gotti, the gangster who led the Gambino crime family, and George Steinbrenner, the owner of the Yankees. —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024

White columnists wrote him open letters, processing their own feelings about race, alternating between flattery and belligerence. —Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

see belligerent

First Known Use

1814, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

belligerence

noun

bel·​lig·​er·​ence bə-ˈlij(-ə)-rən(t)s 

: a belligerent attitude or disposition