Belligerent Meaning
/bəˈlɪdʒ.ə.ɹənt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjEngaged in warfare, warring.
adjEager to go to war, warlike.
Sentence Examples
Sami was being so belligerent.
Sami is being belligerent.
That pot-bellied, belligerent green ogre is back for yet another animated adventure.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ dog growled and snapped at every passing stranger.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ Nations refused to sign the peace treaty after the long war.
Word Origin & History
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”)).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"And I think the facts are that Beijing is a belligerent bully jealous and envious of what Taiwan has accomplished- mainland China- that's what I get out of all of this."
— 1999 August 5, Jesse Helms, quotee, 1:27 from the start, in USA: CHINA/TAIWAN TENSIONS MOUNTING, Associated Press, archived from the original on 31 Jan 2026:
"England were not allowed to give their chariot the momentum it had a week ago. It was stopped dead in its tracks by a belligerent Springboks defence that simply refused to yield."
— 2019 November 3, Liam de Carme, “Boks, you beauties”, in Sunday Times:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ dog growled and snapped at every passing stranger.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ Nations refused to sign the peace treaty after the long war.