belligerence
noun
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Belligerent, Belligerents, and Belligerence
Belligerent may function as either an adjective or a noun. As an adjective, it has two primary meanings, each of which corresponds to the two senses of its noun form.
The older sense (“waging war”) is generally used to refer to the actions or combatants of a nation at war, or to the nation itself ("belligerent operations"; "belligerent troops"; “the belligerent state”); it is paralleled by the earliest sense of the noun, “a nation at war” (“the belligerents assembled at the peace conference”). The second sense of belligerent (“inclined to or exhibiting assertiveness, hostility, or combativeness”), which usually applies to persons or animals, or to their attitudes or actions, likewise parallels the second sense of the noun (“a person taking part in a fight”). A related noun belligerence refers to “an aggressive or truculent attitude, atmosphere, or disposition” that can be either individual or global.
Examples of belligerence in a Sentence
Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
There’s been plenty of disturbing news lately about energy belligerence and blackouts, for instance.
—Christine Ro, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025
On October 15, 1924, André Breton published a manifesto that was as notable for its belligerence as its egotism.
—Jonathon Keats, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
Wolff said Xi may not be ready to take Taiwan by force yet as there are other hotspots in the South China Sea where the U.S. potentially would be obliged to intervene against Chinese belligerence, such as the Philippines.
—John Feng, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for belligerence
Cite this Entry
“Belligerence.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/belligerence. Accessed 22 May. 2025.
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belligerence
noun
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