4

What nouns are there meaning "love of fighting", or "excitement caused by getting into fights". Adjectives would also be useful.

Example sentences:

His ...... (love of fighting) will be the death of him.

His ....... (fight-loving) wife will take that as justification to smack him round the head.

Improve this question
13
  • 2
    I'm afraid we need a little more to go on (otherwise we'll come up with answers, you'll veto them for reasons we did not know about, and the cycle will repeat ad nauseam). Have you found and rejected some words already? What do you need this word for? What part of speech should it be? (Noun, I'm guessing, but it's best to be explicit.) Etc., etc.
    – Marthaª
    Dec 17, 2015 at 20:51
  • 1
    a "brawler" (or a scrapper) ?
    – Graffito
    Dec 17, 2015 at 21:33
  • 2
    I would say "bellicose" (and all it's synonyms).
    – Hot Licks
    Dec 17, 2015 at 21:37
  • 1
    @MartinSmith: I think the adjective form you were looking for is "pugnacious". A pugalist is one who fights; someone is pugnacious if they tend to start fights.
    – keshlam
    Dec 18, 2015 at 2:30
  • 1
    @LiamJoyce - I've put some example sentences in. If they're not appropriate please change them to what you're looking for.
    – AndyT
    Dec 18, 2015 at 19:54

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
8

Consider bellicose (or belligerent).

Definition: inclined or eager to fight; aggressively hostile; belligerent; pugnacious; of warlike character; aggressively hostile.

Example: She is the right person to deal with angry, belligerent clients.

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    Synonyms: belligerent, aggressive, hostile, warlike, warmongering, hawkish, antagonistic, pugnacious, truculent, confrontational, contentious, militant, combative.
    – Hot Licks
    Dec 17, 2015 at 21:54
  • 1
    Please cite the source of your definition.
    – Kit Z. Fox ♦
    Dec 20, 2015 at 0:31
8

Aggressive, combative, pugnacious, or belligerent can mean one who enjoys fighting. Aggressive:

characterized by or tending toward unprovoked offensives, attacks, invasions, or the like; militantly forward or menacing

Combative

ready or inclined to fight; pugnacious

Pugnacious

inclined to quarrel or fight readily; quarrelsome; belligerent; combative.

Belligerent

of warlike character; aggressively hostile; bellicose

Definitions from Dictionary.com

I would use these to describe a lover of fighting.

Improve this answer
5

Depending on context, consider:

bloodlust

bloodlust (also, blood thirstiness)

  1. A desire for extreme violence and carnage, often aroused in the heat of battle and leading to uncontrolled slaughter and torture.

  2. The desire for bloodshed. Wiktionary

quarrelsomeness

quarrelsome: having or showing an eagerness to fight The Free Dictionary

Improve this answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.