belligerent
adj.adj. wishing to fight or start a conflict. You use this to describe someone who is acting very aggressive or a country that is at war.
adj. hostile and aggressive; engaged in a war or conflict. Often used predicatively after linking verbs or attributively to describe a person's temperament.
The customer became belligerent when the store refused his refund.
The diplomat's belligerent tone during the negotiations made it difficult for both sides to reach a peaceful agreement.
Historians often debate whether the empire's belligerent foreign policy was a result of genuine security concerns or a calculated attempt to expand its territorial influence.
From Latin belligerans (“waging war”), present active participle of belligerō (“I wage war”), from belliger (“waging war, warlike”), from bellum (“war”) + -ger (from gerō (“I lead, wage, carry on”)).
Typically used to describe people, nations, or specific behaviors. When describing nations, it specifically refers to those officially engaged in a recognized war.