From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpugnaciouspug‧na‧cious /pʌɡˈneɪʃəs/ adjective formal FIGHTvery eager to argue or fight with people The professor had been pugnacious and irritable. —pugnaciously adverb —pugnacity /pʌɡˈnæsəti/ noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
pugnacious• The missing face is that of the late Cecil Spence, Mayor in 1977-78 and as principled as he was pugnacious.• When drinking, he becomes pugnacious and rude.• Reg Seekings, a short, stocky and pugnacious East Anglian, had achieved a considerable reputation in the boxing ring.• A caustically witty and pugnacious man, Wade is a charismatic speaker who can keep a crowd spellbound.• Congressmen have been less pugnacious since then, and in exchange Mr Borja has stopped trying to reform things much.• A man of great personal charm, he was yet stubborn and pugnacious towards those with whom he disagreed.• Crystalizing these feelings was a youthful, pugnacious writer named Norman Mailer.Origin pugnacious (1600-1700) Latin pugnax, from pugnare “to fight” 