Meanings
comparative more belligerent · superlative most belligerent
- Engaged in warfare, warring.
- Eager to go to war, warlike.
- Of or pertaining to war.
- broadlyAggressively hostile, eager to fight.
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 20261 more example
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 TimesSynonyms: aggressive, antagonistic, bellicose, combative, contentious, pugnacious, quarrelsome, truculent
- Acting violently towards others.
- Uncooperative.
"Hmm." "Problem?" "Arianna warned me this might be a challenging shoot. I think she was worried about you being belligerent, but the real issue is turning out to be your specularity. It looks like I'm taking pictures of a flashbang."
2015 July 9, Dave Barrack, Grrl Power (webcomic), Grrl Power #334 – Make down
plural belligerents
- A state or other armed participant in warfare
The UN sent a treaty proposal to the belligerents.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveAggressively hostile, eager to fight.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivecharacteristic of an enemy or one eager to fight
adjectiveengaged in war
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinbelligerans“waging war”
- Englishbelligerent
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”)).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans strydlustig
- strydlustig4. hostile, eager to fight
Bulgarian вою́ващ, во́йнствен
- вою́ващ (vojúvašt)1. engaged in warfare
- во́йнствен (vójnstven)2. eager to go to war
- вое́нен (voénen)3. of or pertaining to war
- во́йнствен (vójnstven)4. hostile, eager to fight
- воюваща страна (vojuvašta strana)state or other armed participant in warfare
Chinese Mandarin 參戰的 /参战的, 交戰的 /交战的
- 參戰的 /参战的 (cānzhàn de)1. engaged in warfare
- 交戰的 /交战的 (jiāozhàn de)1. engaged in warfare
- 交战国 (jiāozhànguó)state or other armed participant in warfare
Danish krigsførende, krigslysten
- krigsførende1. engaged in warfare
- krigslysten2. eager to go to war
- krigs-3. of or pertaining to war
- stridslysten4. hostile, eager to fight
Dutch belligerent, oorlogvoerend
- belligerent1. engaged in warfare
- oorlogvoerend1. engaged in warfare
- oorlogszuchtig2. eager to go to war
- oorlogs-3. of or pertaining to war
- krijgs-3. of or pertaining to war
- strijdlustig4. hostile, eager to fight
- vijandig4. hostile, eager to fight
- belligerentstate or other armed participant in warfare
- oorlogvoerende partijstate or other armed participant in warfare
Estonian sõdiv, sõjakas
- sõdiv1. engaged in warfare
- sõjakas2. eager to go to war
- sõjakas4. hostile, eager to fight
Finnish sotaakäyvä, sotaisa
- sotaakäyvä1. engaged in warfare
- sotaisa2. eager to go to war
- sotaintoinen2. eager to go to war
- sota-3. of or pertaining to war
- sodan3. of or pertaining to war
- hyökkäävä4. hostile, eager to fight
- riitaisa4. hostile, eager to fight
- riidanhaluinen4. hostile, eager to fight
- riitaa haastava5. acting violently
- väkivaltainen5. acting violently
- sodan osapuolistate or other armed participant in warfare
French belligérant, belliqueux
- belligérant1. engaged in warfare
- belliqueux2. eager to go to war
- bellique3. of or pertaining to war
- belliqueux4. hostile, eager to fight
- belliqueux5. acting violently
- belligérantstate or other armed participant in warfare
German kriegführend, Krieg führend
- kriegführend1. engaged in warfare
- Krieg führend1. engaged in warfare
- kampflustig2. eager to go to war
- kriegerisch2. eager to go to war
- Kriegs-3. of or pertaining to war
- streitlustig4. hostile, eager to fight
- kampflustig4. hostile, eager to fight
- Konfliktparteistate or other armed participant in warfare
Hungarian háborúzó, hadviselő
- háborúzó1. engaged in warfare
- hadviselő1. engaged in warfare
- hadakozó1. engaged in warfare
- hadviselő félstate or other armed participant in warfare
Icelandic herskár, ófriðsamur
- herskár4. hostile, eager to fight
- ófriðsamur4. hostile, eager to fight
- deilugjarn4. hostile, eager to fight
- ófriðsamur5. acting violently
- deilugjarn5. acting violently
- styrjaldaraðilistate or other armed participant in warfare
- deiluaðilistate or other armed participant in warfare
Italian belligerante, bellicoso
- belligerante1. engaged in warfare
- bellicoso2. eager to go to war
- bellico3. of or pertaining to war
- bellicoso4. hostile, eager to fight
- belligerantestate or other armed participant in warfare
Japanese 交戦国, 交戦団体
- 交戦国 (kōsen koku)state or other armed participant in warfare
- 交戦団体 (kōsen dantai)state or other armed participant in warfare
Latin bellicus, bellicus
- bellicus3. of or pertaining to war
- bellicus4. hostile, eager to fight
- bellicus5. acting violently
Māori kaikiri, kaitaua
- kaikiri1. engaged in warfare
- kaitaua2. eager to go to war
- kaikiri2. eager to go to war
- ririhau4. hostile, eager to fight
- toheriri5. acting violently
- kaikiri5. acting violently
Norwegian Bokmål krigersk, stridslysten
- krigersk2. eager to go to war
- stridslysten2. eager to go to war
- krigs-3. of or pertaining to war
- stridslysten4. hostile, eager to fight
Polish walczący, wojowniczy
- walczący1. engaged in warfare
- wojowniczy2. eager to go to war
- wojenny3. of or pertaining to war
- napastliwy4. hostile, eager to fight
- strona konfliktustate or other armed participant in warfare
Portuguese beligerante, beligerante
- beligerante1. engaged in warfare
- beligerante2. eager to go to war
- belicoso2. eager to go to war
- bélico3. of or pertaining to war
- beligerante4. hostile, eager to fight
- belicoso5. acting violently
- beligerantestate or other armed participant in warfare
- beligerantesstate or other armed participant in warfare
Romanian beligerant, de război
- beligerant1. engaged in warfare
- de război3. of or pertaining to war
- belicos4. hostile, eager to fight
- certăreț4. hostile, eager to fight
Russian вою́ющий, вражду́ющий
- вою́ющий (vojújuščij)1. engaged in warfare
- вражду́ющий (vraždújuščij)1. engaged in warfare
- вои́нственный (voínstvennyj)2. eager to go to war
- вое́нный (vojénnyj)3. of or pertaining to war
- вражде́бный (vraždébnyj)4. hostile, eager to fight
- вои́нственный (voínstvennyj)4. hostile, eager to fight
- агресси́вный (agressívnyj)5. acting violently
- воюющая сторона́ (vojujuščaja storoná)state or other armed participant in warfare
- уча́стник конфликта (učástnik konflikta)state or other armed participant in warfare
Spanish beligerante, beligerante
- beligerante1. engaged in warfare
- beligerante2. eager to go to war
- beligerantestate or other armed participant in warfare
- partes beligerantesstate or other armed participant in warfare
- partes enfrentadasstate or other armed participant in warfare
Swedish krigförande, krigslysten
- krigförande1. engaged in warfare
- krigslysten2. eager to go to war
- krigs-3. of or pertaining to war
- stridslysten4. hostile, eager to fight
Thai คู่สงคราม
- คู่สงครามstate or other armed participant in warfare
Ukrainian вою́ючий, войовни́чий
- вою́ючий (vojújučyj)1. engaged in warfare
- войовни́чий (vojovnýčyj)2. eager to go to war
- воє́нний (vojénnyj)3. of or pertaining to war
Cite this entry
belligerent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/belligerent
“belligerent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/belligerent. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “belligerent,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/belligerent.
Source: belligerent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.