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pugnacity

American  
[puhg-nas-i-tee] / pʌgˈnæs ɪ ti /
Also pugnaciousness

noun

  1. readiness to quarrel or fight; combative or argumentative character.

    She was always defending him against the fallout from his pugnacity and lack of social graces.

Etymology

Origin of pugnacity

First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin pugnācitās “combativeness,” equivalent to pugnāci-, stem of pugnāx “combative” + -tās -ty 2 ( def. )

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.