Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Disposed or eager to fight or engage in hostile opposition; belligerent.
  • adjective Showing or expressing bitter opposition or hostility; aggressively defiant.
  • adjective Disposed to violence; ferocious or cruel.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Fierce; savage; barbarous.
  • Inspiring terror; ferocious.
  • Cruel; destructive.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Fierce; savage; ferocious; barbarous.
  • adjective Cruel; destructive; ruthless.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective cruel or savage
  • adjective Deadly or destructive.
  • adjective Defiant or uncompromising.
  • adjective Eager or quick to argue, fight or start a conflict.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective defiantly aggressive

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin truculentus, from trux, truc-, fierce; see terə- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

First attested circa 1540, from Latin truculentus ("fierce, savage"), from trux ("fierce, wild").

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word truculent.

Examples

  • A kind of truculent honesty which he could never dissemble for long, always stood in his way.

    The Complete Stories Waugh, Evelyn 1998

  • To interpret him according to this image -- a womanish figure in a long robe and a turban, with big bare arms and a dramatic pose -- would be to think of him as a kind of truculent sultana.

    A Little Tour of France Henry James 1879

  • As Mrs. Dinks made no reply, and assumed the appearance of a lady who, for her own private and inscrutable reasons, had concluded to forego the prerogative of speech for evermore, while she fanned herself calmly, and regarded Fanny with a kind of truculent calmness that seemed to say,

    Trumps George William Curtis 1858

  • The general manager of the Leafs has famously stated he wants a "truculent" and

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed 2010

  • The general manager of the Leafs has famously stated he wants a "truculent" and

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed 2010

  • Letter, of the "truculent" and "unhappy" national symbol presiding over the entrance to Salem‘s

    National Demons: Robert Burns, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the Folk in the Forest 2006

  • A kind of truculent question was in his eyes -- as much as to say, "Now then, what do you make of it all?

    Warlock o' Glenwarlock George MacDonald 1864

  • They are of the gloomy, razor-bearing variety; full of short-sighted lies and prompt dishonesties, amusing always, but truculent and tricky; and the sunny sweetness which we all know in the Negro character is not there.

    A Renegade History of the United States Thaddeus Russell 2010

  • She would show up in a hard hat, like some truculent crusader.

    Lorelei 2010

  • Fischer's increasingly bizarre, truculent behavior alienated friends and family and landed him in serious legal trouble.

    Dan Lybarger: The Search Is Over: Liz Garbus on Bobby Fischer Against the World Dan Lybarger 2011

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • "He passes, struck by the stare of truculent Wellington ..."

    Joyce, Ulysses, 15

    January 28, 2007

  • "I'm a truculent bigot, I revel in scum." --The Bolshoi

    This word triggered the memory of that lyric, and reminded me I have been too long without a CD of the Bolshoi, so I actually went and bought it just now. This site does strange things to me...

    February 13, 2007

  • I got my CD today. Yay! I'm a truculent bigot!

    February 16, 2007

  • ...but I hope you don't revel in scum.

    February 16, 2007

  • "Uhh, hey mate, uhhh . . . about that truck you lent me . . ."

    The man stared truculently at the wall as the police officers asked him about the murder of the man he let borrow his vehicle.

    May 15, 2009

  • "Bitter and truculent when excited, I spoke as I felt, without reserve or softening."

    - Charlotte Bronte, 'Jane Eyre'.

    November 3, 2009

  • "Though the window had broken mostly in big pieces, a few bits of glass fell from her as she rose, and I flicked an eye at Eric to make sure he understood he should clean them up. He had a truculent set to his mouth."-Dead as a Doornail, by Charlaine Harris

    May 19, 2011

  • A strong, astringent, bilious nature has more truculent enemies than the slugs and moths that fret my leaves.

    Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Conduct of Life

    November 19, 2011

  • 'Wild', 'Salvaje'

    October 25, 2013