Select the meaning of the underlined word in the following sentence.The children became bellicose after too much time in the moving car.
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A
Beautiful
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B
Selfless
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C
Tolerant
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D
Quarrelsome
When children become bellicose, they become quarrelsome, aggressively combative, eager to argue or fight due to irritability.
A) Beautiful
Beauty denotes aesthetic appeal, visual quality unrelated to behavioral aggression. Bellicose shares superficial phonetic similarity with "beautiful" but derives from bellum (war), not bellus (pretty).
B) Selfless
Selflessness denotes altruism, putting others first rather than aggressive self-assertion. Bellicose individuals prioritize conflict over cooperation, opposite social orientations.
C) Tolerant
Tolerance denotes acceptance of differences, patience rather than combativeness. Bellicose behavior rejects tolerance through aggressive confrontation, fundamentally opposed dispositions.
D) Quarrelsome
Quarrelsome precisely captures bellicose's essence: aggressively argumentative, eager to engage in conflict. Bellicose (bellum, "war") implies warlike disposition, exactly matching quarrelsome's readiness for verbal or physical combat.
Conclusion
Bellicose denotes warlike aggression, distinct from beauty, selflessness, or tolerance. Quarrelsome alone captures bellicose's essential character: combative readiness manifesting as argumentativeness, irritability, and eagerness to engage in conflict.
Topic Flashcards
Click to FlipWhich adjective describes a nation that is aggressively building up its military and making threats toward its neighbors?
A bellicose nation
What word means having a fighting or warlike disposition, often leading to confrontational behavior?
Bellicose.
True or False: A bellicose debate is characterized by polite disagreement and mutual respect.
False. It is characterized by hostile and aggressive argument
If a leader's speech is full of threats and incitements to conflict, how could that speech be described?
As a bellicose speech.
What is a common antonym for "bellicose" that describes a peaceful, non-aggressive stance?
Pacific, conciliatory, or peaceful.