belligerent
bel·li·ger·ent/bəˈlɪd͡ʒ.ɚ.ənt/adjective, noun
belligerent is spelled B-E-L-L-I-G-E-R-E-N-T, 4 syllables: bel·li·ger·ent. The wrong spelling people search most is belligerant: about 180 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 25 of all searches for the word. Belligerent is an adjective meaning “Engaged in warfare, warring”.
How many letters and syllables are in belligerent?
| Letters | 11: B-E-L-L-I-G-E-R-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: bel·li·ger·ent |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 27,462nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, belligerant, about 180 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell belligerent?
Belligerent is spelled B-E-L-L-I-G-E-R-E-N-T. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 25 of the searches for belligerent in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is belligerent?
Belligerent appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,462nd 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 belligerent?
- UK /bəˈlɪdʒ.ə.ɹənt/
- UK [bəˈlɪdʒ.ə.ɹənt] ~ [bəˈlɪdʒ.ə.ɹn̩t]
- US /bəˈlɪd͡ʒ.ɚ.ənt/
Belligerent has 4 syllables, split bel·li·ger·ent in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-belligerent.ogg, En-us-belligerent.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of belligerent
- more belligerent comparative
- most belligerent superlative
- belligerents plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does belligerent mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Engaged in warfare, warring.
- 2
Eager to go to war, warlike.
- 3
Of or pertaining to war.
- 4
Aggressively hostile, eager to fight.
- 5
Acting violently towards others.
- 6
Uncooperative.
noun
- 1
A state or other armed participant in warfare
The UN sent a treaty proposal to the belligerents.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Belligerent in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | belligérant , belliqueux , bellique |
| German | kriegführend, Krieg führend , kampflustig, kriegerisch , Kriegs- , streitlustig |
| Portuguese | beligerante , belicoso , bélico , beligerantes |
| Spanish | beligerante , partes beligerantes, partes enfrentadas |
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 belligerent come from?
From Latin belligerans (“waging war”), present active participle of belligerō (“to wage war”), from belliger (“waging war, warlike”), from bellum (“war”) + -ger (from gerō (“to lead, wage, carry on”)).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).