belligerent

C2 Topic:War & Conflict

US /bəˈlɪd͡ʒ.ə.ɹənt/ UK /bəˈlɪdʒ.(ə).ɹənt/ See IPA manual

Freq #31026

Meanings

1

adj
Aggressive and eager to argue or fight.

He became belligerent after a few drinks and started shouting at strangers.
2

noun
A country or group that is taking part in a war.

The treaty was signed by all the belligerents in the conflict.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · aggressive and eager to... aggressive hostile combative quarrelsome

2 noun · a country or group that is... combatant fighter

Opposites

conciliatory friendly peaceful

Word family

Forms belligerents

Derived forms antibelligerentbelligeratibelligerentlycobelligerentinterbelligerentnon-belligerentnonbelligerentunbelligerent

Related forms bellicose belligerence belligerency

Etymology

From Latin belligerans (“waging war”), present active participle of belligerō (“to wage war”), from belliger (“waging war, warlike”), from bellum (“war”) + -ger (from gerō (“to lead, wage, carry on”)).

Topics

War & Conflict Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# belligerent

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** /bəˈlɪd͡ʒ.ə.ɹənt/
**IPA (UK):** /bəˈlɪdʒ.(ə).ɹənt/
**Frequency rank:** 31026

## Meanings
1. Aggressive and eager to argue or fight.
2. A country or group that is taking part in a war.

## Examples
- He became belligerent after a few drinks and started shouting at strangers.
- The treaty was signed by all the belligerents in the conflict.

## Antonyms
- conciliatory
- friendly
- peaceful

## Derived Forms
- antibelligerent
- belligerati
- belligerently
- cobelligerent
- interbelligerent
- non-belligerent
- nonbelligerent
- unbelligerent

## Related Forms
- bellicose
- belligerence
- belligerency

## Etymology
From Latin belligerans (“waging war”), present active participle of belligerō (“to wage war”), from belliger (“waging war, warlike”), from bellum (“war”) + -ger (from gerō (“to lead, wage, carry on”)).

## AI Etymology
Belligerent is from Latin belligerans (“waging war”), present active participle of belligerō (“to wage war”), from belliger (“waging war, warlike”), from bellum (“war”) + -ger (from gerō (“to lead, wage, carry on”)). In present-day use, it can mean aggressive and eager to argue or fight, or a country or group that is taking part in a war. Derived formations include antibelligerent, belligerati, belligerently, cobelligerent, and interbelligerent.

## Topics
- War & Conflict
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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belligerent

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