pugnacious
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
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.
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran’s pugnacious parliament speaker, continued his now-daily trolling of the Trump administration, posting a picture depicting the smoking wreckage of what appeared to be two planes and two helicopters.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026
Even by the former’s standards, it was angry, pugnacious, and hence less effective.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 25, 2026
Gulbadin Naib had earlier provided the backbone of Afghanistan's 182-6 with a pugnacious 63 off 35 balls.
From BBC • Feb. 8, 2026
And no one coasts on reputation for pugnacious realism, in U.S. politics, like Mario Cuomo’s son.
From Slate • Jun. 17, 2025
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.
