pugnacious

[puhg-ney-shuh s] /pʌgˈneɪ ʃəs/
adjective
1.
inclined to quarrel or fight readily; quarrelsome; belligerent; combative.
Origin
1635-45; pugnaci(ty) (< Latin pugnācitās combativeness, equivalent to pugnāci-, stem of pugnāx combative (akin to pugil; see pugilism) + -tās -ty2) + -ous
Related forms
pugnaciously, adverb
pugnacity
[puhg-nas-i-tee] /pʌgˈnæs ɪ ti/ (Show IPA), pugnaciousness, noun
unpugnacious, adjective
unpugnaciously, adverb
unpugnaciousness, noun
Synonyms
argumentative, contentious, bellicose.
Antonyms
agreeable.
Examples from the web for pugnacious
  • Because of their highly predaceous and pugnacious nature they are one of the easiest fish to catch.
  • The pugnacious males often build nests, almost touching adjoining nests.
  • When he got serious, she imagined he was pugnacious, and tried to egg him on to an open quarrel.
  • Thirdly, docile animals within a species group are normally selected over pugnacious fellow-members.
British Dictionary definitions for pugnacious

pugnacious

/pʌɡˈneɪʃəs/
adjective
1.
readily disposed to fight; belligerent
Derived Forms
pugnaciously, adverb
pugnacity (pʌɡˈnæsɪtɪ), pugnaciousness, noun
Word Origin
C17: from Latin pugnāx
Word Origin and History for pugnacious
adj.

1640s, a back-formation from pugnacity or else from Latin pugnacis, genitive of pugnax "combative, fond of fighting," from pugnare "to fight," especially with the fists, "contend against," from pugnus "a fist," from PIE *pung-, nasalized form of root *peuk-, *peug- "to stick, stab, to prick" (cf. Greek pyx "with clenched fist," pygme "fist, boxing," pyktes "boxer;" Latin pungere "to pierce, prick").