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belligerent

Pronunciation: /bəˈlɪdʒ(ə)r(ə)nt/
Translate belligerent | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of belligerent

adjective

  • hostile and aggressive:the mood at the meeting was belligerent
  • engaged in a war or conflict, as recognized by international law: a conference of socialists from all belligerent countries

noun

  • a nation or person engaged in war or conflict, as recognized by international law: ships and goods captured at sea by a belligerent

Derivatives

belligerently

adverb

Origin:

late 16th century: from Latin belligerant- 'waging war', from the verb belligerare, from bellum 'war'

Spelling help

Spell belligerent with a double l; the ending is -ent.

belligerent in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of belligerent in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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