What does belligerent mean?
Word: Belligerent
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Belligerent means angry and eager to argue or fight; hostile. As a noun, it can mean a country that is fighting in a war.
Synonyms: aggressive, hostile, quarrelsome
Antonyms: friendly, calm
How do you spell belligerent?
Syllables: bel - lig - er - ent
Tricky part: The l is doubled but the g is not, and the g sounds like j.
Watch out for: beligerent, belligirent, belijerent
Memory tip: A loud bell rings and a grumpy man leaps up, eager to argue: belligerent starts with that bell.
Belligerent in a sentence
Example 1: The belligerent customer shouted at the cashier over a small mistake.
Example 2: Our dog becomes belligerent whenever another dog comes near the gate.
Example 3: The two belligerent neighbours finally agreed to talk.
Fun Fact
Belligerent comes from the Latin bellum, meaning war. Rebel and rebellion are built on the same Latin root.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word: belligerent
a) fierce
b) peaceful
c) spiteful
d) furious
Show answer
b) peaceful. A belligerent person wants a fight; a peaceful one does not.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) eligant
b) ignorrant
c) arogant
d) belligerent
Show answer
d) belligerent. Arrogant needs two r's, ignorant has only one, and elegant starts ele; belligerent is the only one written correctly.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
After losing the toss, the belligerant captain argued with the umpire for several minutes.
a) belligerant
b) minutes
c) captain
d) argued
Show answer
a) belligerant. The ending is ent, as in different.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which reply sounds belligerent?
a) Could we talk about this later?
b) That is fine, you can go first.
c) Sorry, I did not mean to push you.
d) Say that again and see what happens.
Show answer
d) Say that again and see what happens.
2. A belligerent tone of voice sounds ____.
a) angry and ready to argue
b) soft and gentle
c) sleepy and slow
d) cheerful and kind
Show answer
a) angry and ready to argue
