as in belligerent
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Recent Examples of trigger-happy
Rifle Club is a trigger-happy world where violence is almost poetically portrayed.
—
Sweta Kaushal, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
The trigger-happy tradition to shoot guns in the air at midnight on New Years Eve has gone on for decades.
—Natalie Davies, Detroit Free Press, 27 Dec. 2024
With concern solidifying around Mexico’s role as a pipeline for Chinese products, the president-elect may have another reason to adopt a trigger-happy stance on duties—and a review of USMCA.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019
The screenplay even pays tribute to the island’s anti-fascist heritage with an elderly, trigger-happy partisan shooting from her balcony and singing Communist songs with the Mayor.
—Alissa Simon, Variety, 16 Aug. 2024
Dancing next to the procession of kids and the trigger-happy xylophone infant.
—Raven Smith, Vogue, 22 July 2024
On the other hand, post-Soviet Russia’s nuclear strategy seemed more trigger-happy than before.
—Olga Oliker, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2018
Add to the mix the trigger-happy culture of hiring and firing traders, and the hunt for clever managers is as important as stellar returns and raising cash.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 21 June 2024
He’s been a renegade sheriff in The Hateful Eight, an outlaw on Justified, a Navy SEAL on Six and a trigger-happy train robber in Shanghai Noon — but Fallout marks the first time he’s been two versions of one cowboy.
—Danielle Directo-Meston, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 June 2024
Sweta Kaushal, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
The trigger-happy tradition to shoot guns in the air at midnight on New Years Eve has gone on for decades.
—Natalie Davies, Detroit Free Press, 27 Dec. 2024
With concern solidifying around Mexico’s role as a pipeline for Chinese products, the president-elect may have another reason to adopt a trigger-happy stance on duties—and a review of USMCA.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019
The screenplay even pays tribute to the island’s anti-fascist heritage with an elderly, trigger-happy partisan shooting from her balcony and singing Communist songs with the Mayor.
—Alissa Simon, Variety, 16 Aug. 2024
Dancing next to the procession of kids and the trigger-happy xylophone infant.
—Raven Smith, Vogue, 22 July 2024
On the other hand, post-Soviet Russia’s nuclear strategy seemed more trigger-happy than before.
—Olga Oliker, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2018
Add to the mix the trigger-happy culture of hiring and firing traders, and the hunt for clever managers is as important as stellar returns and raising cash.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 21 June 2024
He’s been a renegade sheriff in The Hateful Eight, an outlaw on Justified, a Navy SEAL on Six and a trigger-happy train robber in Shanghai Noon — but Fallout marks the first time he’s been two versions of one cowboy.
—Danielle Directo-Meston, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 June 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trigger-happy
Adjective
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Besides securing access to the world's largest consumer market, these nations will be able to use relations with Washington as a bulwark against the belligerent empires on their borders.—
Tim Ryan,
Newsweek,
18 Dec. 2024
-
North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un has taken a more belligerent stand in world politics during the Biden administration, abandoning its Trump-era defensive posture in favor of active cooperation with its few allies.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
13 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Even in the courtroom drama, Basso showed his gusto for physical realism by incorporating signs of fighting damage for his pugnacious but legally innocent character.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA TODAY,
24 Jan. 2025
-
Detroit has been pugnacious, shouldering a bevy of recent critical injuries to its defense.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
The Athletic,
5 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Consider, for instance, that members of the interim government, despite their Islamist backgrounds, have refrained from any bellicose anti-Israeli rhetoric.—
Volker Perthes,
Foreign Affairs,
24 Jan. 2025
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The United States and China appear destined for a military conflict, with bellicose rhetoric on both sides, an escalating arms race and Beijing widely considered the most serious threat to the U.S. since the Cold War.—
Brad Dress,
The Hill,
7 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Vance's combative tone was emblematic of the broader MAGA cultural agenda, which prioritizes division over unity and power over mercy.—
Jonathan Granoff,
Newsweek,
28 Jan. 2025
-
So even as Chinese officials are welcoming overtures from a less combative Trump in week one of his presidency, there’s skepticism within China that those warmer-than-expected signals will last.—
Simone McCarthy,
CNN,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Freyja, however, is a more warlike goddess, and even has a part in selecting warriors for her hall in the afterlife.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes,
2 Jan. 2025
-
Some characters die violently in a warlike atmosphere, and the remaining ones struggle with their losses.—
Common Sense Media,
Washington Post,
12 July 2024
Adjective
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An aggressive exterior, with more aero and venting, hints at the performance potential within.—
Michael Teo Van Runkle,
Forbes,
23 Jan. 2025
-
Eight years later, polls show the president has more support in the country for aggressive limits on immigration, in part because of a surge in migrants crossing the southern border during much of Mr. Biden’s time in office.—
Michael D. Shear,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The confirmation dealt, at least symbolically, a powerful blow to the militant group, particularly since the elusive Deif was considered iconic among Hamas fighters for surviving multiple assassination attempts.—
Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports,
arkansasonline.com,
31 Jan. 2025
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Unusually, that handover was a joint affair between Hamas and several allied militant groups.—
Mick Krever,
CNN,
30 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Giorgia’s leadership is threatened by increasingly truculent government allies, so Arianna is overseeing the backroom process of reverting their post-Fascist party to its more tribal roots.—
Mattia Ferraresi,
airmail.news,
5 Oct. 2024
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Is some planet somewhere pulling in the wrong direction, like a truculent mule?—
James Parker,
The Atlantic,
24 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near trigger-happy
Cite this Entry
“Trigger-happy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trigger-happy. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.
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