1
as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
die-hard fans who became truculent and violent after their team's loss
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in abusive
marked by harsh insulting language
a theater critic who was notorious for his titanically truculent reviews
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3
as in brutal
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others
played the role of a disturbed and truculent villain
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of truculent
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
Is some planet somewhere pulling in the wrong direction, like a truculent mule?
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 24 Dec. 2024
Deda’s son, Karel (a terrific turn from Karel Martinec, the filmmaker’s own father) is an ornery recent widower who is truculent with his two adult daughters Lucie (Pavlína Balner) and Romana (Karin Bilíková).
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 5 July 2024
Needing Maher’s truculent approval to sustain their own arguments, they’re defined by their enemy.
—Armond White, National Review, 7 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for truculent
Mattia Ferraresi, airmail.news, 5 Oct. 2024
Is some planet somewhere pulling in the wrong direction, like a truculent mule?
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 24 Dec. 2024
Deda’s son, Karel (a terrific turn from Karel Martinec, the filmmaker’s own father) is an ornery recent widower who is truculent with his two adult daughters Lucie (Pavlína Balner) and Romana (Karin Bilíková).
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 5 July 2024
Needing Maher’s truculent approval to sustain their own arguments, they’re defined by their enemy.
—Armond White, National Review, 7 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for truculent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for truculent
Adjective
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In addition to doing his job defensively, Garcia was aggressive in pushing up from his spot at left back and getting involved in the offensive attack.—
Steve Millar,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Aug. 2025
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This could force aggressive interest rate cuts, overriding the current consensus and aligning policy with Trump’s agenda.—
Dan Irvine,
Forbes.com,
26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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In fact, virtually every female character is colored by the legacy of toxic males: pervy pastors, deadbeat dads, abusive boyfriends, murderous cretins.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
20 Aug. 2025
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In the book, Rudy is driven to become a lawyer because his abusive father hated lawyers.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The exhibit explores the brutal history of the domestic slave trade in the American South and the labor performed by enslaved Africans, primarily in South Carolina.—
Chadd Scott,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
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Friends can lie, colleagues can backstab, anyone can die in any number of brutal ways.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The Palestinian militant group also abducted more than 250 hostages.—
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Aug. 2025
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Now, that was never actually true, and certainly on January 6th, when a lot of the members of these militant groups went to the Capitol and attacked police officers, injuring more than 100 of them, their love for law enforcement was not genuine.—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The fourth-year coach is having none of it, dismissing outside opinions as irrelevant and insulting.—
Edgar Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
20 Aug. 2025
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And slandering council members, who publicly supported Madigan before Khadija Walker was nominated, is disrespectful and insulting.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
11 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Auggie isn’t a cruel, withholding bigot, but a stable and loving parent.—
Adam B. Vary,
Variety,
22 Aug. 2025
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The series centers on a group of kids with latent or emerging special abilities who are subjected to cruel experiments at the mysterious institute of the title, along with a local cop (Ben Barnes) whose story intersects with that of the kids.—
Rick Porter,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The climate for filmmakers looking to interrogate the Russian war effort remains hostile.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
31 Aug. 2025
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The president’s hostile, but at times confusing, remarks over the last several days have put the city on edge as leaders condemned the plan as unnecessary and dangerous.—
Alice Yin,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Last fall, Brabus unveiled its latest outrageous take on Mercedes’s iconic grand tourer.—
Bryan Hood,
Robb Report,
21 Aug. 2025
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Joining forces with the club’s outrageous misfit crew, Wendy launches a daring reverse con to take her tormentor down.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
19 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Truculent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/truculent. Accessed 3 Sep. 2025.
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