pugnacious Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. adjective satellite tough and callous by virtue of experience
    hard-bitten; hard-boiled.
  2. adjective satellite ready and able to resort to force or violence
    rough.
    • pugnacious spirits...lamented that there was so little prospect of an exhilarating disturbance"- Herman Melville
    • they were rough and determined fighting men

WordNet

Pug*na"cious adjective
Etymology
L. pugnax, -acis, fr. pugnare to fight. Cf. Pugilism, Fist.
Definitions
  1. Disposed to fight; inclined to fighting; quarrelsome; fighting. --Pug*na"cious*ly, adv. -- Pug*na"cious*ness, n.

Webster 1913