Some words describe people and creatures spoiling for a fight; others name the side we fight against and the ways fights end. Many come from Latin words for battle: bellum (war) in bellicose and belligerent, pugnus (fist) in pugnacious, and miles (soldier) in militant.
Key idea
Ready to fight: hostile, belligerent, bellicose, pugnacious, truculent, militant. The other side: adversary. Ending the fight: truce (a pause), armistice (an end to the fighting) and diplomacy (talking it out).
The ten words
Common mistake
belligerent and bellicose share bellum (war): bellicose describes a temperament, belligerent a behavior. A truce is a pause; an armistice ends the fighting of a war.
| word | what it describes | you might hear |
|---|---|---|
| hostile | unfriendly, opposed | a hostile crowd |
| belligerent | acting ready to fight right now | a belligerent customer |
| bellicose | warlike by nature | a bellicose speech |
| pugnacious | quick to fight or argue | a pugnacious terrier |
| truculent | fierce and defiant | a truculent reply |
| militant | fighting hard for a cause | a militant group |
| adversary | the other side | a worthy adversary |
| truce | a pause in fighting | call a truce |
| armistice | an end to a war’s fighting | sign an armistice |
| diplomacy | managing conflict by talk and tact | quiet diplomacy |
Bellicose and belligerent share Latin bellum, war. Bellicose usually describes a person’s nature (a bellicose ruler who loves war); belligerent describes how someone is acting (a belligerent customer shouting right now). A truce is a pause, while an armistice ends the fighting of a war.