"pugnacious" meaning in English

See pugnacious in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /pʌɡˈneɪʃəs/ [General-American, Received-Pronunciation] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-pugnacious.wav [Southern-England], LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-pugnacious.wav [General-American] Forms: more pugnacious [comparative], most pugnacious [superlative]
Rhymes: -eɪʃəs Etymology: Learned borrowing from Latin pugnāci-, a stem of pugnax (“fond of fighting, aggressive, combative, pugnacious”) + English -ous (“suffix forming adjectives from nouns, denoting presence of qualities in any degree (typically an abundance)”). Pugnax is derived from pugnō (“to combat, fight; etc.”) + -āx (suffix forming adjectives denoting a tendency to do the actions of the verbs it is attached to); and pugnō from pugnus (“fist”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *puǵnos, *puḱnos (from *pewǵ- (“to engage in a fistfight, punch; to poke, prick”)) + Latin -nus (suffix forming nouns)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs). Etymology templates: {{root|en|ine-pro|*pewǵ-}}, {{lbor|en|la||pugnāci-}} Learned borrowing from Latin pugnāci-, {{lg|stem}} stem, {{lg|suffix}} suffix, {{lg|adjective}} adjective, {{lg|noun}} noun, {{affix|en|-ous|t1=suffix forming adjectives from nouns, denoting presence of qualities in any degree (typically an abundance)}} -ous (“suffix forming adjectives from nouns, denoting presence of qualities in any degree (typically an abundance)”), {{lg|verb}} verb, {{der|en|ine-pro|*puǵnos}} Proto-Indo-European *puǵnos, {{der|en|la|-nus|pos=suffix forming nouns}} Latin -nus (suffix forming nouns), {{lg|conjugation}} conjugation Head templates: {{en-adj}} pugnacious (comparative more pugnacious, superlative most pugnacious)
  1. Having a tendency to argue or fight; aggressive, combative. Derived forms: pugnaciously, pugnaciousness, unpugnacious Related terms: expugn, impugn, oppugn, poniard, pugilism, pugilist, pugnacity, repugn, repugnant, spoiling for a fight Translations (having a tendency to argue or fight): свадлив (svadliv) (Bulgarian), pugnaç (Catalan), 好鬥的 /好斗的 (hàodòu de) (Chinese Mandarin), 好戰的 /好战的 (hàozhàn de) (Chinese Mandarin), strijdlustig (Dutch), vechtlustig (Dutch), vijandig (Dutch), taistelunhaluinen (Finnish), pugnace (French), pugnaz (Galician), aggressiv (German), kämpferisch (German), kampfeslustig (German), kampflustig (German), rauflustig (German), streitlustig (German), streitsüchtig (German), trodach (Irish), pugnace (Italian), сотқар (sotqar) (Kazakh), төбелескіш (töbeleskiš) (Kazakh), төбелесшіл (töbelesšil) (Kazakh), pugnāx (Latin), pukungangare (Māori), ririhau (Māori), stridslysten (Norwegian Bokmål), pugnaç (Occitan), awanturniczy (Polish), czupurny (Polish), wojowniczy (Polish), zadzierzysty (Polish), zadziorny (Polish), zawadiacki (Polish), pugnace (Portuguese), pugnaz (Portuguese), belicoso (Portuguese), драчли́вый (dračlívyj) (Russian), ра̏тобо̄ран [Cyrillic] (Serbo-Croatian), rȁtobōran [Latin] (Serbo-Croatian), pugnaz (Spanish), stridslysten (Swedish)

Alternative forms

{
  "etymology_links": [
    [
      "pugnax",
      "pugnax#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-ous",
      "-ous#English"
    ],
    [
      "pugnō",
      "pugno#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-āx",
      "-ax#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "pugnus",
      "pugnus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*puǵnos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/puǵnos"
    ],
    [
      "*puḱnos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/puḱnos"
    ],
    [
      "*pewǵ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/pewǵ-"
    ],
    [
      "-nus",
      "-nus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-ō",
      "-o#Latin"
    ]
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
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      "expansion": "",
      "name": "root"
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        "2": "la",
        "3": "",
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      "expansion": "Learned borrowing from Latin pugnāci-",
      "name": "lbor"
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      },
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  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more pugnacious",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most pugnacious",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
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    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "pugnacious (comparative more pugnacious, superlative most pugnacious)",
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    {
      "parts": [
        "pug",
        "na",
        "cious"
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  "lang_code": "en",
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        {
          "word": "unpugnacious"
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        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "calm"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "steady"
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        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "collected"
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        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "composed"
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        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "cool-headed"
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        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "equable"
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        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "equanimous"
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        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "equanimitable"
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        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "even-keeled"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "even-minded"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "even-tempered"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "imperturbable"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "laid-back"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "level-headed"
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        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "mellow"
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        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "tags": [
            "obsolete"
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          "word": "pacate"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "pacific"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "peaceable"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "peaceful"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "phlegmatic"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "placid"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "quiescent"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "quiet"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "relaxed"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "tags": [
            "Scottish"
          ],
          "word": "roolie"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "sedate"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "serene"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "still"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "tranquil"
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        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "unexcited"
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        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "unfazed"
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        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "unflappable"
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        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "unflustered"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "unperturbable"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "unruffable"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "unruffled"
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          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "untumultuous"
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      "derived": [
        {
          "word": "pugnaciously"
        },
        {
          "word": "pugnaciousness"
        },
        {
          "word": "unpugnacious"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              47,
              57
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1642, H[enry] M[ore], “ΑΝΤΙΜΟΝΟΨΥΧΙΑ [Antimonopsychia], or That All Souls are Not One”, in ΨΥΧΩΔΙΑ [Psychōdia] Platonica: Or A Platonicall Song of the Soul, […], Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel, printer to the Universitie, →OCLC, , stanza 14, page 38:",
          "text": "Plato affirms Idees; / But Ariſtotle vvith his pugnacious race / As idle figments ſtifly them denies.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              41,
              51
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1858, Anthony Trollope, “Dr. Thorne”, in Doctor Thorne. […], volume I, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 53:",
          "text": "Not that the doctor was a bully, or even pugnacious, in the usual sense of the word; he had no disposition to provoke a fight, no propense love of quarrelling.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              79,
              89
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1904, Jack London, chapter XV, in The Sea-Wolf (Macmillan’s Standard Library), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC, page 138:",
          "text": "As he made the demand he spat out a mouthful of blood and teeth and shoved his pugnacious face close to Oofty-Oofty.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              70,
              80
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2002 December 2, Ken Follett, Hornet Flight, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Dutton, →ISBN, page 200:",
          "text": "In the face of bad news [William] Churchill normally became even more pugnacious, always wanting to respond to defeat by going on the attack.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              211,
              221
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2014 September 13, Oliver Brown, “Oscar Pistorius jailed for five years – sport afforded no protection against his tragic fallibilities: Bladerunner’s punishment for killing Reeva Steenkamp is but a frippery when set against the burden that her bereft parents, June and Barry, must carry [print version: No room for sentimentality in this tragedy, page S22]”, in The Daily Telegraph, London: Telegraph Media Group, published 21 October 2014, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 15 Jul 2025, Sport section:",
          "text": "[I]n the 575 days since [Oscar] Pistorius shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, there has been an unseemly scramble to construct revisionist histories, to identify evidence beneath that placid exterior of a pugnacious, hair-trigger personality.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
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              233,
              243
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2019 February 27, Drachinifel [pseudonym], 29:50 from the start, in The Battle of Samar – Odds? What are Those?, archived from the original on 03 Nov 2022:",
          "text": "Of course the Johnston swings around to engage the entire flotilla, and, despite taking several more hits, Johnston successfully forces away the first two ships, which leads to the entire squadron taking a detour to avoid the single pugnacious ship.",
          "type": "quotation"
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              66,
              76
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          "ref": "2025 September 8, Roger Cohen, “French Prime Minister [François] Bayrou loses confidence vote, putting pressure on [Emmanuel] Macron”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 08 Sep 2025:",
          "text": "In a speech this weekend, Ms. [Marine] Le Pen suggested that her \"pugnacious\" young protégé, Jordan Bardella, who is one of the most popular politicians in France, was ready to become prime minister.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Having a tendency to argue or fight; aggressive, combative."
      ],
      "id": "en-pugnacious-en-adj-Dr0hEvSY",
      "links": [
        [
          "tendency",
          "tendency"
        ],
        [
          "argue",
          "argue"
        ],
        [
          "fight",
          "fight#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "aggressive",
          "aggressive#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "combative",
          "combative"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "expugn"
        },
        {
          "word": "impugn"
        },
        {
          "word": "oppugn"
        },
        {
          "word": "poniard"
        },
        {
          "word": "pugilism"
        },
        {
          "word": "pugilist"
        },
        {
          "word": "pugnacity"
        },
        {
          "word": "repugn"
        },
        {
          "word": "repugnant"
        },
        {
          "word": "spoiling for a fight"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "bellicose"
        },
        {
          "word": "belligerent"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "aggressive"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "antagonistic"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "assaultive"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "bellicose"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "belligerent"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "combative"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "martial"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "militaristic"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "philopolemic"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "philopolemical"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "pugnacious"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "quarrelsome"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "truculent"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "warlike"
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      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "lang_code": "bg",
          "roman": "svadliv",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "свадлив"
        },
        {
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "lang_code": "ca",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "pugnaç"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "lang_code": "cmn",
          "roman": "hàodòu de",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "好鬥的 /好斗的"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "lang_code": "cmn",
          "roman": "hàozhàn de",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "好戰的 /好战的"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "lang_code": "nl",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "strijdlustig"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "lang_code": "nl",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "vechtlustig"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "lang_code": "nl",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "vijandig"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "taistelunhaluinen"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "lang_code": "fr",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "pugnace"
        },
        {
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "lang_code": "gl",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "pugnaz"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "lang_code": "de",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "aggressiv"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "lang_code": "de",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "kämpferisch"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "lang_code": "de",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "kampfeslustig"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "lang_code": "de",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "kampflustig"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "lang_code": "de",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "rauflustig"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "lang_code": "de",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "streitlustig"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "lang_code": "de",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "streitsüchtig"
        },
        {
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "lang_code": "ga",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "trodach"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "lang_code": "it",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "pugnace"
        },
        {
          "code": "kk",
          "lang": "Kazakh",
          "lang_code": "kk",
          "roman": "sotqar",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "сотқар"
        },
        {
          "code": "kk",
          "lang": "Kazakh",
          "lang_code": "kk",
          "roman": "töbeleskiš",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "төбелескіш"
        },
        {
          "code": "kk",
          "lang": "Kazakh",
          "lang_code": "kk",
          "roman": "töbelesšil",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "төбелесшіл"
        },
        {
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "lang_code": "la",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "pugnāx"
        },
        {
          "code": "mi",
          "lang": "Māori",
          "lang_code": "mi",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "pukungangare"
        },
        {
          "code": "mi",
          "lang": "Māori",
          "lang_code": "mi",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "ririhau"
        },
        {
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "lang_code": "nb",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "stridslysten"
        },
        {
          "code": "oc",
          "lang": "Occitan",
          "lang_code": "oc",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "pugnaç"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "lang_code": "pl",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "awanturniczy"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "lang_code": "pl",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "czupurny"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "lang_code": "pl",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "wojowniczy"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "lang_code": "pl",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "zadzierzysty"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "lang_code": "pl",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "zadziorny"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "lang_code": "pl",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "zawadiacki"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "lang_code": "pt",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "pugnace"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "lang_code": "pt",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "pugnaz"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "lang_code": "pt",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "belicoso"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "lang_code": "ru",
          "roman": "dračlívyj",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "драчли́вый"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "lang_code": "sh",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "tags": [
            "Cyrillic"
          ],
          "word": "ра̏тобо̄ран"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "lang_code": "sh",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "tags": [
            "Latin"
          ],
          "word": "rȁtobōran"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "lang_code": "es",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "pugnaz"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "lang_code": "sv",
          "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
          "word": "stridslysten"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/pʌɡˈneɪʃəs/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American",
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-pugnacious.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/a/a9/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-pugnacious.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-pugnacious.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/a/a9/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-pugnacious.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-pugnacious.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-pugnacious.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/db/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-pugnacious.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-pugnacious.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/db/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-pugnacious.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-pugnacious.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-eɪʃəs"
    }
  ],
  "word": "pugnacious"
}
{
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "pugnaciously"
    },
    {
      "word": "pugnaciousness"
    },
    {
      "word": "unpugnacious"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_links": [
    [
      "pugnax",
      "pugnax#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-ous",
      "-ous#English"
    ],
    [
      "pugnō",
      "pugno#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-āx",
      "-ax#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "pugnus",
      "pugnus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*puǵnos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/puǵnos"
    ],
    [
      "*puḱnos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/puḱnos"
    ],
    [
      "*pewǵ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/pewǵ-"
    ],
    [
      "-nus",
      "-nus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-ō",
      "-o#Latin"
    ]
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*pewǵ-"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "root"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "",
        "4": "pugnāci-"
      },
      "expansion": "Learned borrowing from Latin pugnāci-",
      "name": "lbor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stem"
      },
      "expansion": "stem",
      "name": "lg"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "suffix"
      },
      "expansion": "suffix",
      "name": "lg"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "adjective"
      },
      "expansion": "adjective",
      "name": "lg"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "noun"
      },
      "expansion": "noun",
      "name": "lg"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "-ous",
        "t1": "suffix forming adjectives from nouns, denoting presence of qualities in any degree (typically an abundance)"
      },
      "expansion": "-ous (“suffix forming adjectives from nouns, denoting presence of qualities in any degree (typically an abundance)”)",
      "name": "affix"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "verb"
      },
      "expansion": "verb",
      "name": "lg"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*puǵnos"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *puǵnos",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "-nus",
        "pos": "suffix forming nouns"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin -nus (suffix forming nouns)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "conjugation"
      },
      "expansion": "conjugation",
      "name": "lg"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Learned borrowing from Latin pugnāci-, a stem of pugnax (“fond of fighting, aggressive, combative, pugnacious”) + English -ous (“suffix forming adjectives from nouns, denoting presence of qualities in any degree (typically an abundance)”). Pugnax is derived from pugnō (“to combat, fight; etc.”) + -āx (suffix forming adjectives denoting a tendency to do the actions of the verbs it is attached to); and pugnō from pugnus (“fist”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *puǵnos, *puḱnos (from *pewǵ- (“to engage in a fistfight, punch; to poke, prick”)) + Latin -nus (suffix forming nouns)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more pugnacious",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most pugnacious",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "pugnacious (comparative more pugnacious, superlative most pugnacious)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "pug",
        "na",
        "cious"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "expugn"
    },
    {
      "word": "impugn"
    },
    {
      "word": "oppugn"
    },
    {
      "word": "poniard"
    },
    {
      "word": "pugilism"
    },
    {
      "word": "pugilist"
    },
    {
      "word": "pugnacity"
    },
    {
      "word": "repugn"
    },
    {
      "word": "repugnant"
    },
    {
      "word": "spoiling for a fight"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "unpugnacious"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "calm"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "steady"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "collected"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "composed"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "cool-headed"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "equable"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "equanimous"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "equanimitable"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "even-keeled"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "even-minded"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "even-tempered"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "imperturbable"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "laid-back"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "level-headed"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "mellow"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "tags": [
            "obsolete"
          ],
          "word": "pacate"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "pacific"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "peaceable"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "peaceful"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "phlegmatic"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "placid"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "quiescent"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "quiet"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "relaxed"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "tags": [
            "Scottish"
          ],
          "word": "roolie"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "sedate"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "serene"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "still"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "tranquil"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "unexcited"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "unfazed"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "unflappable"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "unflustered"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "unperturbable"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "unruffable"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "unruffled"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:calm",
          "word": "untumultuous"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English adjectives",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English learned borrowings from Latin",
        "English lemmas",
        "English terms borrowed from Latin",
        "English terms derived from Latin",
        "English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
        "English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *pewǵ-",
        "English terms suffixed with -acious",
        "English terms suffixed with -ous",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Rhymes:English/eɪʃəs",
        "Rhymes:English/eɪʃəs/3 syllables",
        "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
        "Terms with Catalan translations",
        "Terms with Dutch translations",
        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with Galician translations",
        "Terms with German translations",
        "Terms with Irish translations",
        "Terms with Italian translations",
        "Terms with Kazakh translations",
        "Terms with Latin translations",
        "Terms with Mandarin translations",
        "Terms with Māori translations",
        "Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations",
        "Terms with Occitan translations",
        "Terms with Polish translations",
        "Terms with Portuguese translations",
        "Terms with Russian translations",
        "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
        "Terms with Spanish translations",
        "Terms with Swedish translations",
        "en:Personality"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              47,
              57
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1642, H[enry] M[ore], “ΑΝΤΙΜΟΝΟΨΥΧΙΑ [Antimonopsychia], or That All Souls are Not One”, in ΨΥΧΩΔΙΑ [Psychōdia] Platonica: Or A Platonicall Song of the Soul, […], Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel, printer to the Universitie, →OCLC, , stanza 14, page 38:",
          "text": "Plato affirms Idees; / But Ariſtotle vvith his pugnacious race / As idle figments ſtifly them denies.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              41,
              51
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1858, Anthony Trollope, “Dr. Thorne”, in Doctor Thorne. […], volume I, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 53:",
          "text": "Not that the doctor was a bully, or even pugnacious, in the usual sense of the word; he had no disposition to provoke a fight, no propense love of quarrelling.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              79,
              89
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1904, Jack London, chapter XV, in The Sea-Wolf (Macmillan’s Standard Library), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC, page 138:",
          "text": "As he made the demand he spat out a mouthful of blood and teeth and shoved his pugnacious face close to Oofty-Oofty.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              70,
              80
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2002 December 2, Ken Follett, Hornet Flight, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Dutton, →ISBN, page 200:",
          "text": "In the face of bad news [William] Churchill normally became even more pugnacious, always wanting to respond to defeat by going on the attack.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              211,
              221
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2014 September 13, Oliver Brown, “Oscar Pistorius jailed for five years – sport afforded no protection against his tragic fallibilities: Bladerunner’s punishment for killing Reeva Steenkamp is but a frippery when set against the burden that her bereft parents, June and Barry, must carry [print version: No room for sentimentality in this tragedy, page S22]”, in The Daily Telegraph, London: Telegraph Media Group, published 21 October 2014, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 15 Jul 2025, Sport section:",
          "text": "[I]n the 575 days since [Oscar] Pistorius shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, there has been an unseemly scramble to construct revisionist histories, to identify evidence beneath that placid exterior of a pugnacious, hair-trigger personality.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              233,
              243
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2019 February 27, Drachinifel [pseudonym], 29:50 from the start, in The Battle of Samar – Odds? What are Those?, archived from the original on 03 Nov 2022:",
          "text": "Of course the Johnston swings around to engage the entire flotilla, and, despite taking several more hits, Johnston successfully forces away the first two ships, which leads to the entire squadron taking a detour to avoid the single pugnacious ship.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              66,
              76
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2025 September 8, Roger Cohen, “French Prime Minister [François] Bayrou loses confidence vote, putting pressure on [Emmanuel] Macron”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 08 Sep 2025:",
          "text": "In a speech this weekend, Ms. [Marine] Le Pen suggested that her \"pugnacious\" young protégé, Jordan Bardella, who is one of the most popular politicians in France, was ready to become prime minister.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Having a tendency to argue or fight; aggressive, combative."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "tendency",
          "tendency"
        ],
        [
          "argue",
          "argue"
        ],
        [
          "fight",
          "fight#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "aggressive",
          "aggressive#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "combative",
          "combative"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "bellicose"
        },
        {
          "word": "belligerent"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "aggressive"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "antagonistic"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "assaultive"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "bellicose"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "belligerent"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "combative"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "martial"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "militaristic"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "philopolemic"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "philopolemical"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "pugnacious"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "quarrelsome"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "truculent"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:combative",
          "word": "warlike"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/pʌɡˈneɪʃəs/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American",
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-pugnacious.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/a/a9/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-pugnacious.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-pugnacious.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/a/a9/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-pugnacious.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-pugnacious.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-pugnacious.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/db/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-pugnacious.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-pugnacious.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/db/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-pugnacious.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-pugnacious.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-eɪʃəs"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "lang_code": "bg",
      "roman": "svadliv",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "свадлив"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "lang_code": "ca",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "pugnaç"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "lang_code": "cmn",
      "roman": "hàodòu de",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "好鬥的 /好斗的"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "lang_code": "cmn",
      "roman": "hàozhàn de",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "好戰的 /好战的"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "lang_code": "nl",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "strijdlustig"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "lang_code": "nl",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "vechtlustig"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "lang_code": "nl",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "vijandig"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "taistelunhaluinen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "pugnace"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "lang_code": "gl",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "pugnaz"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "aggressiv"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "kämpferisch"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "kampfeslustig"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "kampflustig"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "rauflustig"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "streitlustig"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "streitsüchtig"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "lang_code": "ga",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "trodach"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "lang_code": "it",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "pugnace"
    },
    {
      "code": "kk",
      "lang": "Kazakh",
      "lang_code": "kk",
      "roman": "sotqar",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "сотқар"
    },
    {
      "code": "kk",
      "lang": "Kazakh",
      "lang_code": "kk",
      "roman": "töbeleskiš",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "төбелескіш"
    },
    {
      "code": "kk",
      "lang": "Kazakh",
      "lang_code": "kk",
      "roman": "töbelesšil",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "төбелесшіл"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "lang_code": "la",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "pugnāx"
    },
    {
      "code": "mi",
      "lang": "Māori",
      "lang_code": "mi",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "pukungangare"
    },
    {
      "code": "mi",
      "lang": "Māori",
      "lang_code": "mi",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "ririhau"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "lang_code": "nb",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "stridslysten"
    },
    {
      "code": "oc",
      "lang": "Occitan",
      "lang_code": "oc",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "pugnaç"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "awanturniczy"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "czupurny"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "wojowniczy"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "zadzierzysty"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "zadziorny"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "zawadiacki"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "pugnace"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "pugnaz"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "belicoso"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "lang_code": "ru",
      "roman": "dračlívyj",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "драчли́вый"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "lang_code": "sh",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "tags": [
        "Cyrillic"
      ],
      "word": "ра̏тобо̄ран"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "lang_code": "sh",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "tags": [
        "Latin"
      ],
      "word": "rȁtobōran"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "pugnaz"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "lang_code": "sv",
      "sense": "having a tendency to argue or fight",
      "word": "stridslysten"
    }
  ],
  "word": "pugnacious"
}

Download raw JSONL data for pugnacious meaning in English (16.9kB)

{
  "called_from": "page/2530",
  "msg": "skipping string in the middle of translations: </table></div></div>\n\n",
  "path": [
    "pugnacious"
  ],
  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "adjective",
  "title": "pugnacious",
  "trace": ""
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-10-30 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-10-01 using wiktextract (19f9a30 and 6f96ddf). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.