bellicose
bel·li·cose/ˈbɛlɪkoʊs/adjective
bellicose is spelled B-E-L-L-I-C-O-S-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables (bel·li·cose). It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 68,248th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, bellicose means “Warlike or combative in nature; aggressively hostile” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in bellicose?
| Letters | 9: B-E-L-L-I-C-O-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: bel·li·cose |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 68,248th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is bellicose?
Bellicose appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 68,248th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bellicose?
- US /ˈbɛlɪkoʊs/
- US /ˈbɛləkoʊs/
Bellicose has 3 syllables, split bel·li·cose in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-bellicose.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of bellicose
- more bellicose comparative
- most bellicose superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bellicose mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Warlike or combative in nature; aggressively hostile.
You don't have to be so bellicose, and we can work out a peaceful solution.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bellicose in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense 1. warlike in nature:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | belliqueux |
| German | kriegerisch |
| Portuguese | bélico |
| Spanish | belicoso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does bellicose come from?
From Middle English bellicose, from Latin bellicosus.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).