as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
a seafarer's legend that the remote island was inhabited by a warlike and uncivilized tribe
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Recent Examples of warlike
His warlike actions in Iran, despite campaign promises to the contrary, blatantly bypassed the need to gain approval from the legislative branch of government.
—
Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 29 June 2025
The bottom line: Bipartisanship is the most obvious casualty of Schumer's new warlike posture toward the GOP.
—Hans Nichols, Axios, 21 Mar. 2025
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
The Coming Economic Crisis Outwardly, many Russians seem to support the Kremlin’s warlike stance toward the West.
—Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 9 Feb. 2022
See All Example Sentences for warlike
Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 29 June 2025
The bottom line: Bipartisanship is the most obvious casualty of Schumer's new warlike posture toward the GOP.
—Hans Nichols, Axios, 21 Mar. 2025
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
The Coming Economic Crisis Outwardly, many Russians seem to support the Kremlin’s warlike stance toward the West.
—Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 9 Feb. 2022
See All Example Sentences for warlike
Recent Examples of Synonyms for warlike
Adjective
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That was a fun one, with both teams staying aggressive throughout the match.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
16 June 2026
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That more aggressive posture has been exemplified in Lewis George's smaller jousts with the mayor over housing and public safety policies, too.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
Trump’s birthday began with a new round of Israeli military strikes in Beirut, which the country said was in response to projectiles fired by the militant group Hezbollah at Israel.—
Zac Anderson,
USA Today,
15 June 2026
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Israel’s military said the militant group launched three projectiles, releasing video in which an audible boom was followed by rising smoke.—
Julia Frankel,
Los Angeles Times,
14 June 2026
Adjective
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But if his intention is a quick rate cut, the new chairman might be entering a hostile work environment.—
Jeff Cox,
CNBC,
17 June 2026
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French, American, British and other naval crews already have experience of escorting civilian ships through hostile fire in the region.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Warlike.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/warlike. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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