Building a Better Vocabulary

Lecture 5: Fighting Words and Peaceful Words

rebels—people who have lost a war but want to “make war again”

to overcome their conquerors.

z Belligerent is a close synonym for bellicose that shares the root bell

and also means “warlike and aggressively hostile.”

z Antebellum and postbellum are two other words derived from bell.

7KH /DWLQ SUH¿[ante- means “before”; thus, antebellum means

³EHIRUH WKH ZDU ́ 7KH /DWLQ SUH¿[post- means “after”; thus,

postbellum means “after the war.”

Truculent (adjective)

&UXHOVDYDJHEUXWDODQG¿HUFHGLVSRVHGWR¿JKWLQJVFDWKLQJDQGEUXWDOO\

harsh, often referring to verbal criticism.

Contumacious (adjective)

Stubbornly disobedient and rebellious to authority; willfully obstinate.

Rapacious (adjective)

Aggressively and excessively greedy or grasping; predatory.

z Rapacious doesn’t just mean aggressive; it has the added connotation

of greedy and grasping behavior. Here’s a sentence that puts the

word in context: “The rapacious company bought up all its smaller

competitors until it had the monopoly on lollipops in North America.”

z Synonyms for rapacious include ravenous, voracious, and

avaricious. Use rapacious when you want to emphasize the greedy,

devouring nature of aggression.

Halcyon (adjective)

Tranquil, calm, and peaceful; may refer to happy, joyful, and prosperous times.