pugnacity

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

“There was a wonderfully endearing pugnacity to Terry,” said Steven V. Roberts, a veteran Washington journalist who became friends with Mr. Lenzner while covering his college football exploits for the Harvard Crimson newspaper.

From Washington Post • Apr. 23, 2020

The story of Mr. Miller’s rise has been told with a focus on his pugnacity and paradoxes.

From New York Times • Aug. 17, 2019

Mr. Poltifen was a short, thick-set individual, with that in his appearance which was suggestive of pugnacity, an iron-grey, scrubby beard, and a pair of spectacles--probably something superior in the cobbling line.

From Between the Dark and the Daylight by Marsh, Richard