Adjective – Belligerent
“Belligerent” has Latin bits that mean “causing war,” or more literally, “carrying war, or bearing war.”
Belligerent people and things are full of anger, as if they’re eager to start a fight or a war.
Part of speech:
Adjective: “a belligerent scowl;” “They got belligerent with us.”
Other forms:
Belligerently, belligerence (or, if you prefer, belligerency).
“Belligerent” can also be a noun meaning “a person or group that’s fighting,” as in “We don’t involve ourselves with those belligerents.”
how to use it:
“Belligerent” is a common, formal word with a serious, negative tone.
You might talk about belligerent people and their belligerent faces, expressions, voices, comments, demands, attitudes, etc. Or, talk about a belligerent tone, mood, relationship, country, history, etc.
And you can say that people are getting belligerent, especially with other people, or that they’re belligerent toward others.
examples:
“He strutted around with a belligerent and tough attitude. Although he wasn’t a tall dog, he was heavy. His body was long and his chest broad and thick.”
— Wilson Rawls, Where the Red Fern Grows, 1961
“The first time [Danny Devito] emerges from the dispatcher’s cage in ‘Taxi,’ the audience erupts into shocked laughter, because his height is such a contrast with his character’s outsize confidence and belligerence.”
— Maureen Down, New York Times, 23 March 2019