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Wednesday November 19, 2003

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bellicose \BEL-ih-kohs\ , adjective:
Inclined to or favoring war or strife; warlike; pugnacious.

And John Adams insisted that where European diplomacy was secret, bellicose, and riddled with intrigue, American policy would be open, peaceful, and honest.
-- Walter McDougall, Promised Land, Crusader State

Cambodia struggled through five years of bloody civil conflict with the destructive intervention of bellicose foreign powers, four years of a genocidal revolutionary regime, then liberation through invasion and a decade of military occupation by Vietnam.
-- Henry Kamm, Cambodia: Report From a Stricken Land

Yet his undoubtedly aggressive behaviour . . . only served to further endear him to all who had dealings with him. They recognised that behind the bellicose facade, there beat a big, warm, compassionate heart.
-- "Big, warm heart behind bellicose facade", Irish Times, August 21, 1999

Bellicose is from Latin bellicosus, from bellicus, "of war," from bellum, "war."

Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for bellicose

 

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