Word of the Day Archive
Friday February 9, 2001
bellicose \BEL-ih-kohs\ , adjective:
Inclined to or favoring war or strife; warlike; pugnacious.
And John Adams insisted that where European diplomacy was secret, bellicose, and riddled with intrigue, American policy would be open, peaceful, and honest.
-- Walter McDougall, Promised Land, Crusader State
Cambodia struggled through five years of bloody civil conflict with the destructive intervention of bellicose foreign powers, four years of a genocidal revolutionary regime, then liberation through invasion and a decade of military occupation by Vietnam.
-- Henry Kamm, Cambodia: Report From a Stricken Land
Yet his undoubtedly aggressive behaviour . . . only served to further endear him to all who had dealings with him. They recognised that behind the bellicose facade, there beat a big, warm, compassionate heart.
-- "Big, warm heart behind bellicose facade", Irish Times, August 21, 1999
Bellicose is from Latin bellicosus, from bellicus, "of war," from bellum, "war."
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for bellicose
