pugnacious
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- pugnaciously adverb
- pugnaciousness noun
- pugnacity noun
- unpugnacious adjective
- unpugnaciously adverb
Etymology
Origin of pugnacious
First recorded in 1635–45; pugnaci(ty) (from Latin pugnācitās “combativeness,” equivalent to pugnāci-, stem of pugnāx combative (akin to pugil; see pugilism) + -tās -ty 2 ) + -ous
Explanation
Pugnacious means ready for a fight. If you're pugnacious, you might find it hard to make friends. On the other hand, you might be a very successful professional boxer one day. Your brother is a pugnacious thug — always ready to use his fists to settle arguments, and he has the strength to do so. That’s the literal sense of pugnacious. You can use pugnacious figuratively, too. When two candidates face off in a debate during a close election, one or the other might be pugnacious. He looks to pick a fight with his opponent and is willing to say almost anything, no matter how outrageous, to make his opponent look bad.
Vocabulary lists containing pugnacious
Of Mice and Men
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300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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"Of Mice and Men"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg made an extended, pugnacious appearance in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday, defending his company from the witness stand against a lawsuit that alleges social media harms children.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026
Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a less pugnacious message when compared with last year’s Munich conference.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 15, 2026
And no one coasts on reputation for pugnacious realism, in U.S. politics, like Mario Cuomo’s son.
From Slate • Jun. 17, 2025
John Prescott became a Labour frontbench spokesman in May 1979 and joined the shadow cabinet in 1983, gaining a reputation as a pugnacious and knowledgeable spokesman on transport.
From BBC • Nov. 21, 2024
Lincoln was a clever, gangly, pugnacious, provincial lawyer.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
