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Definition of pugnacity - 3 dictionary results

pug⋅na⋅cious

  [puhg-ney-shuhs]
Use pugnacity in a Sentence
–adjective
inclined to quarrel or fight readily; quarrelsome; belligerent; combative.
Origin:
1635–45; pugnaci(ty) (< L pugnācitās combativeness, equiv. to pugnāci-, s. of pugnāx combative (akin to pugil; see pugilism ) + -tās -ty 2 ) + -ous

Related forms:
pug⋅na⋅cious⋅ly, adverb
pug⋅nac⋅i⋅ty  [puhg-nas-i-tee] , pug⋅na⋅cious⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
argumentative, contentious, bellicose.

Antonyms:
agreeable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pug·na·cious   (pŭg-nā'shəs)   
adj.  Combative in nature; belligerent. See Synonyms at belligerent.

[From Latin pugnāx, pugnāc-, from pugnāre, to fight, from pugnus, fist; see peuk- in Indo-European roots.]
pug·na'cious·ly adv., pug·na'cious·ness, pug·nac'i·ty (-nās'ĭ-tē) n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

pugnacious 
1642, from L. pugnacis, gen. of pugnax "combative," from pugnare "to fight," from pugnus "fist," from PIE base *peug- "to stick, stab" (cf. Gk. pyx "with clenched fist," pygme "fist, boxing," pyktes "boxer;" L. pungere "to pierce, prick").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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