belligerently

American  

[buh-lij-er-uhnt-lee] / bəˈlɪdʒ ər ənt li /

adverb

1. in a belligerent or hostile way; defiantly or aggressively.

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Explanation

Mean people are not cool. They go around acting belligerently, or being hostile and aggressive to others. No one likes a meanie. The word belligerently comes from the Latin belligerant meaning "waging war," which is in effect, what someone acting belligerently is doing. Think of those two l's in the word as two soldiers marching in formation and you might have some help remembering that belligerently is spelled with two l's and not one. Often this word is used to describe the way that some people start to behave when they've had too much to drink, lashing out belligerently, or being overly aggressive.

Example Sentences

But in making Wynona so belligerently flawed and River so narcissistically self-serving, FastHorse diminishes our concern for the outcome of their battle.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 7, 2025

But videos of the event, combined with Duncan’s behavior on the bench so far, strongly suggest that he did prepare himself—not to “stay composed,” but to belligerently insult the protesters with schoolyard taunts.

From Slate • Mar. 13, 2023

When people in the audience at a presentation ask questions belligerently, Berg responds, “Do you feel better? Can I continue?”

From Scientific American • Mar. 25, 2022

A week or two before the dog, a middle-aged man reacted belligerently when, just before he boarded the plane, Veronica asked him to pull up his mask.

From New York Times • Feb. 16, 2022

She looked belligerently at Trotter, but Trotter was so busy making the meat platter and the salad bowl switch places that the expression was wasted.

From "The Great Gilly Hopkins" by Katherine Paterson