Pugnacious \Pug*na"cious\, a. [L. pugnax, -acis, fr. pugnare to fight. Cf. {Pugilism}, {Fist}.] Disposed to fight; inclined to fighting; quarrelsome; fighting. --{Pug*na"cious*ly}, adv. -- {Pug*na"cious*ness}, n. web1913

pugnacious adj 1: tough and callous by virtue of experience [syn: {hard-bitten}, {hard-boiled}] 2: ready and able to resort to force or violence; "pugnacious spirits...lamented that there was so little prospect of an exhilarating disturbance"- Herman Melville; "they were rough and determined fighting men" [syn: {rough}] wn