belligerent

See also: bel·ligerent

English

WOTD – 12 October 2008

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin belligerans (“waging war”), present active participle of belligerō (“I wage war”), from belliger (“waging war, warlike”), from bellum (“war”) + -ger (from gerō (“I lead, wage, carry on”)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bəˈlɪdʒ.(ə).ɹənt/
• IPA^(key): /bəˈlɪdʒ.ə.ɹənt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Adjective

belligerent (comparative more belligerent, superlative most belligerent)

1. Engaged in warfare, warring.
2. Eager to go to war, warlike.
3. Of or pertaining to war.
4. (by extension) Aggressively hostile, eager to fight.
   • 2019 November 3, Liam de Carme, “Boks, you beauties”, in Sunday Times‎^[1]:

     England were not allowed to give their chariot the momentum it had a week ago. It was stopped dead in its tracks by a belligerent Springboks defence that simply refused to yield.

5. Acting violently towards others.
6. Uncooperative.

Synonyms

• (eager to fight): aggressive, antagonistic, bellicose, combative, contentious, pugnacious, quarrelsome, truculent

Derived terms

• belligerently
• cobelligerent
• nonbelligerent

Related terms

• bellicose
• belligerence
• belligerency

Translations

engaged in warfare

• Bulgarian: воюващ (bg) (vojuvašt)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 参战的, 交战中的

• Danish: krigsførende
• Dutch: belligerent, oorlogvoerend (nl)
• Estonian: sõdiv
• Finnish: sotaakäyvä
• French: belligérant (fr)
• Galician: belixerante m or f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: kriegführend (de), Krieg führend (de)
• Interlingue:
• Italian: belligerante m
• Maori: kaikiri
• Polish: walczący
• Portuguese: beligerante (pt)
• Romanian: beligerant (ro) m
• Russian: вою́ющий (ru) (vojújuščij), вражду́ющий (ru) (vraždújuščij)
• Spanish: beligerante (es)
• Swedish: krigförande

eager to go to war

• Belarusian: ваяўні́чы m (vajaŭníčy)
• Bulgarian: войнствен (bg) (vojnstven)
• Danish: krigslysten c
• Dutch: oorlogszuchtig (nl)
• Estonian: sõjakas (et)
• Finnish: sotaisa (fi), sotaintoinen
• Galician: belixerante m or f
• Italian: bellicoso (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: kaitaua, kaikiri
• Norwegian: krigersk, stridslysten
• Polish: wojowniczy (pl)
• Portuguese: beligerante (pt), belicoso (pt)
• Russian: вои́нственный (ru) (voínstvennyj)
• Spanish: bélico (es)
• Swedish: krigslysten n

of or pertaining to war

• Bulgarian: военен (bg) (voenen)
• Danish: krigs-
• Dutch: krijgs-, oorlogs- (nl)
• Finnish: sota-, sodan (genitive of noun)
• Galician: bélico (gl) m
• Italian: bellico (it)
• Latin: bellicus (la)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: wojenny (pl)
• Portuguese: bélico (pt)
• Romanian: de război m or f
• Russian: вое́нный (ru) (vojénnyj)
• Spanish: bélico (es)

hostile, eager to fight

• Bulgarian: войнствен (bg) (vojnstven)
• Danish: stridslysten c
• Dutch: strijdlustig (nl), vijandig (nl)
• Estonian: sõjakas (et)
• Finnish: hyökkäävä (fi), riitaisa (fi), riidanhaluinen
• German: streitlustig
• Icelandic: herskár, ófriðsamur, deilugjarn
• Italian: bellicoso (it)
• Latin: bellicus (la)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian: stridslysten
• Polish: napastliwy (pl)
• Portuguese: beligerante (pt)
• Romanian: belicos (ro) m, certăreț (ro)
• Russian: вражде́бный (ru) (vraždébnyj), вои́нственный (ru) (voínstvennyj)
• Spanish: belicoso (es)
• Swedish: stridslysten (sv)

acting violently

• Finnish: riitaa haastava, väkivaltainen (fi)
• Icelandic: ófriðsamur, deilugjarn
• Latin: bellicus (la)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: toheriri, kaikiri
• Portuguese: belicoso (pt)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} belligérant (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} belligerante

Noun

belligerent (plural belligerents)

1. A state or other armed participant in warfare

   The UN sent a treaty proposal to the belligerents.

Translations

state or other armed participant in warfare

• Bulgarian: воюваща страна (vojuvašta strana)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 交战国 (jiāozhànguó)

• Dutch: belligerent, oorlogvoerende partij
• Finnish: sotaakäyvä
• French: belligérant (fr) m
• German: Konfliktpartei f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Icelandic: styrjaldaraðili m, deiluaðili m
• Italian: belligerante m
• Polish: strona konfliktu f
• Portuguese: beligerante (pt) m, beligerantes pl
• Russian: воюющая сторона́ (vojujuščaja storoná), уча́стник конфликта (učástnik konflikta)
• Thai: คู่สงคราม

See also

• warmonger

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Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French belligérant, from Latin belligerēns (“waging war”), present active participle of belligerō (“wage war”), from belliger (“waging war, warlike”), from bellum (“war”) + -ger (from gerō (“wage, carry on”)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛ.li.ɣəˈrɛnt/
• Hyphenation: bel‧li‧ge‧rent
• Rhymes: -ɛnt

Adjective

belligerent (comparative belligerenter, superlative belligerentst)

1. belligerent, engaged in warfare

Inflection

Declension of belligerent
uninflected	belligerent
inflected	belligerente
comparative	belligerenter
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		belligerent	belligerenter	het belligerentst het belligerentste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	belligerente	belligerentere	belligerentste
	n. sing.	belligerent	belligerenter	belligerentste
	plural	belligerente	belligerentere	belligerentste
definite		belligerente	belligerentere	belligerentste
partitive		belligerents	belligerenters	—

Synonyms

• oorlogvoerend

Noun

belligerent m (plural belligerenten)

1. A belligerent, armed party in warfare

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Latin

Verb

(deprecated template usage) belligerent

1. third-person plural present active subjunctive of belligerō