Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The quality of being pugnacious; disposition to fight; quarrelsomeness.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Inclination or readiness to fight; quarrelsomeness.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The act or characteristic of being
aggressive orcombative .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a natural disposition to be hostile
Etymologies
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Examples
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Thus, for McDougall, the tender emotion is the emotional aspect of the instinct of pity, anger of the instinct of pugnacity, which is, as an impulse, the tendency to strike and destroy.
Human Traits and their Social Significance Irwin Edman
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Man is once for all a fighting animal; centuries of peaceful history could not breed the battle-instinct out of us; and our pugnacity is the virtue least in need of reinforcement by reflection, least in need of orator's or poet's help.
Memories and Studies William James 1876
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He has the kind of pugnacity which prompts a cur or a puppy to attack a
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 71, September, 1863 Various
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It was also apparent in speeches by Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, both of whom were blunt to the point of pugnacity.
Hu faces an Obama administration more hard-nosed about Chinese government John Pomfret 2011
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It was also apparent in speeches by Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, both of whom were blunt to the point of pugnacity.
Hu faces an Obama administration more hard-nosed about Chinese government John Pomfret 2011
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Pawlenty, on the other hand, pursues a path of pugnacity while attackin 'the Dems just for the sake of polarizin.
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The marketing data industry has a tendency toward winner-take-all monopoly (e.g., the Nielsen TV ratings), but in the scanner data business, the DOJ prevented the two leaders from merging in 1987 and the pugnacity of the two competitors caused a subsequent price war that went on for over a decade, with disastrous effects on the stock price.
Hal Varian on Googlenomics, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty 2009
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It was also apparent in speeches by Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, both of whom were blunt to the point of pugnacity.
Hu faces an Obama administration more hard-nosed about Chinese government John Pomfret 2011
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It was also apparent in speeches before Hu's visit by Clinton and Geithner, both of whom were blunt to the point of pugnacity.
Obama holds talks with Hu, urges partnership and respect for human rights Debbi Wilgoren 2011
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It was also apparent in speeches before Hu's visit by Clinton and Geithner, both of whom were blunt to the point of pugnacity.
Obama welcomes Hu by urging partnership, respect for human rights Debbi Wilgoren 2011
writer723 commented on the word pugnacity
pugnacity: well i've been rather pi$$ed @ff lately at the unfairness of job's burdens and people who should know what they're doing and don't. so i guess i am feeling belligerent and combative. bring it on. that's all i've got to say. i know myself better than anyone else. i've been with myself longer.
May 19, 2011