Make Your Point > Archived Issues > BELLIGERENT

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pronounce BELLIGERENT: Say it "buh LIDGE uh runt." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: A belligerent alien--or person, or statement--is starting a fight, getting into an argument, or waging an actual war. Inside the word belligerent, you can glimpse the Latin word for war, bellum. We've met bellum a few times before, when we studied the terms below. Can you recall them? 1. Much like the word belligerent, the word bellic___ means "eager to fight, or ready to start a disagreement." 2. The word a___bell__ means "before the Civil War, or, more loosely, very old-fashioned." 3. Latin for "war case," the phrase c__us bell_ means "a reason for war: an action or event that starts a fight, or gets used as an excuse for one." (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)   definition: "Belligerent" has Latin bits that mean "causing war," or more literally, "carrying war, or bearing war." Belligerent people and things are full of anger, as if they're eager to start a fight or a war. grammatical bits: Part of speech: Adjective: "a belligerent scowl;" "They got belligerent with us." Other forms:  Belligerently, belligerence (or, if you prefer, belligerency). "Belligerent" can also be a noun meaning "a person or group that's fighting," as in "We don't involve ourselves with those belligerents." how to use it: "Belligerent" is a common, formal word with a serious, negative tone. You might talk about belligerent people and their belligerent faces, expressions, voices, comments, demands, attitudes, etc. Or, talk about a belligerent tone, mood, relationship, country, history, etc. And you can say that people are getting belligerent, especially with other people, or that they're belligerent toward others. examples: "He strutted around with a belligerent and tough attitude. Although he wasn't a tall dog, he was heavy. His body was long and his chest broad and thick."      — Wilson Rawls, Where the Red Fern Grows, 1961    "The first time [Danny Devito] emerges from the dispatcher's cage in 'Taxi,' the audience erupts into shocked laughter, because his height is such a contrast with his character's outsize confidence and belligerence."    — Maureen Down, New York Times, 23 March 2019 has this page helped you understand "belligerent"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "belligerent" without saying "hostile" or "aggressive." try it out: I once tried a workout DVD, something like "Killer Cardio," by Jillian Michaels. I was looking for a fun energetic workout, the kind that makes you feel happy and strong, but she kept yelling things like "IF YOU DON'T GET UNCOMFORTABLE, NOTHING IS GOING TO CHANGE."  She's pretty belligerent. Her style just isn't for me. She seemed to be saying, "You're not working out because you love yourself. You're working out because you hate yourself." Oof. With Jillian in mind as an example, talk about someone who comes off as pretty belligerent. What's the hateful or combative message they seem to convey? If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out. Our game for this month is "Provocative Verbs." Check out the headline below. Originally, it included some highly emotional verb, like "bushwhack," "agonize," or "soar." But I've swapped it out for an emotionless one. Try to restore the strong feelings that the headline originally evoked by choosing your own highly emotional verb to swap back in. For example, instead of "St. Jude Keeps Billions While Many of Its Families Use Their Savings," you might come up with "St. Jude Hoards Billions While Many of Its Families Drain Their Savings," the original provocative headline from ProPublica.  Scroll all the way down to see the original headline. You might think of the same verbs as the original writers did, or yours might be even spicier.  Try this one today: From the New York Times: "We've Hurt Our Planet. This Is an SOS." review this word: 1. One near opposite of BELLIGERENT is A. VILIFYING: sharply criticizing people. B. PACIFYING: making people calm or peaceful. C. FORTIFYING: strengthening people in body or spirit. 2. In The Girl Who Drank the Moon, Kelly Barnhill wrote, "_____." A. The garden, immense and belligerent, buzzed and rustled and shone B. The volcano, rageful and belligerent, bellowed and rumbled and spat C. The creek, tranquil and belligerent, burbled and shimmered and slipped Answers to the review questions: 1. B 2. B From the game, the original headline: "We've Failed Our Planet. This Is an SOS." a final word: I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.