pugnacious : M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for January 21 is:

pugnacious \pug-NAY-shus\ adjective
: having a quarrelsome or combative nature : truculent

Example sentence:
"Keep your pugnacious pooch away from my Snoodles!" Mrs. Slater shouted, and I thought, "How ironic that such a quarrelsome old lady thinks my docile dog wants to pick a fight."

Did you know?
Pugnacious individuals are apt to cry, "Put up your dukes!" When they do, they're packing an etymological punch. "Pugnacious" comes from the Latin verb "pugnare" (meaning "to fight"), which in turn comes from the Latin word for "fist," "pugnus." Another Latin word related to "pugnus" is "pugil," meaning "boxer." "Pugil" is the source of our word "pugilist," which means "fighter" and is used especially of professional boxers.

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