as in boxer
one that engages in the sport of fighting with the fists
a pugilist with the trademark of the boxing ring: a nose that showed signs of having been broken on more than one occasion
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pugilist
He was swept up in the swirl of decade-defining events surrounding Muhammad Ali as well as Joe Frazier and other high-wattage pugilists of the 1970s.
—
Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 22 Mar. 2025
The true-life sports biopic unleashes Leo as Alice, the loud, over-the-top matriarch of a large Boston family and manager mom to Micky Ward, a championship boxing contender trained by his drug-addict pugilist half-brother Dicky.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2025
An odd corps of swampy Washington DC pugilists are ready to engage, likely supplemented by political pressure from shipbuilding companies.
—Craig Hooper, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
The 36-year-old Irish martial arts fighter announced his intentions to take on the 29-year-old pugilist Tuesday.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 17 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for pugilist
Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 22 Mar. 2025
The true-life sports biopic unleashes Leo as Alice, the loud, over-the-top matriarch of a large Boston family and manager mom to Micky Ward, a championship boxing contender trained by his drug-addict pugilist half-brother Dicky.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2025
An odd corps of swampy Washington DC pugilists are ready to engage, likely supplemented by political pressure from shipbuilding companies.
—Craig Hooper, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
The 36-year-old Irish martial arts fighter announced his intentions to take on the 29-year-old pugilist Tuesday.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 17 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for pugilist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pugilist
Noun
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One of the youngest boxers to ever make their professional debut was Wilfred Benítez, who did so at the age of 15 in 1958.—
Kimberlee Speakman,
People.com,
26 July 2025
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Screenshots from a July 15 Instagram video of a female boxer helping her doggy sibling escape from the kennel to go back to breeding.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 July 2025
Noun
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Today, our products power everything from the most advanced fighter aircraft, such as the F135 engine for the F-35, to the GTF engine for the most fuel-efficient narrowbody commercial jets.—
Shane Eddy,
Hartford Courant,
22 July 2025
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The fighter aircraft took off at 1:06 p.m. (0706 GMT) from the air force base in Dhaka's Kurmitola for a routine training mission, but experienced a mechanical failure soon after.—
Reuters,
USA Today,
22 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pugilist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pugilist. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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