Webster's English Dictionary

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belligerent

bel.lig.er.ent \b*-lij-(*-)r*nt\ aj [modif. of L belligerant-, belligerans, 
   prp. of belligerare t]o wage war, fr. belliger waging war, fr. bellum + 
   gerere to wage - more at CAST 1: waging war; specif : belonging to or 
   recognized as a military p ower protected by and subject to the laws of war 
   2: inclined to or exhibiting assertiveness or combativeness : BELLIGERENT 
   implies being actually at war or in an actively hostile mood; BELLICOSE 
   suggests a disposition to fight or to start a fight; PUGNACIOUS suggests a 
   disposition that takes pleasure in personal combat; QUARRELSOME stresses an 
   ill-natured readiness to fight without good cause; CONTENTIOUS implies 
   perverse and irritating fondness for arguing and quarreling - belligerent n 
   SYN syn BELLICOSE, PUGNACIOUS, QUARRELSOME, CONTENTIOUS