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pugnacity

[puhg-nas-i-tee] / pʌgˈnæs ɪ ti /




Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I am not persuaded by this criticism—the idea that Jaffa’s famous pugnacity arose from his Straussian ideas rather than his personality strikes me as tendentious.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 2, 2025

But in between docility and pugnacity lies the pathway to effective debate moderation, and I thought Muir and Davis did a fine job walking that road on Tuesday night.

From Slate • Sep. 11, 2024

No one loved to use Harry M. Reid’s past as an amateur middleweight as a metaphor for his political pugnacity more than Mr. Reid himself.

From Washington Post • Dec. 29, 2021

In an early demonstration of his political pugnacity, Reid had demanded during the campaign that Laxalt release his family’s financial interests.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 28, 2021

That birds should sing from emulation as well as for 54the sake of charming the female, is not at all incompatible; and, indeed, might have been expected to go together, like decoration and pugnacity.

From The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex Volume II (1st Edition) by Darwin, Charles




Vocabulary lists containing pugnacity