trigger-happy

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of trigger-happy With concern solidifying around Mexico’s role as a pipeline for Chinese products, the president-elect may have another reason to adopt a trigger-happy stance on duties—and a review of USMCA. Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019 The screenplay even pays tribute to the island’s anti-fascist heritage with an elderly, trigger-happy partisan shooting from her balcony and singing Communist songs with the Mayor. Alissa Simon, Variety, 16 Aug. 2024 Dancing next to the procession of kids and the trigger-happy xylophone infant. Raven Smith, Vogue, 22 July 2024 On the other hand, post-Soviet Russia’s nuclear strategy seemed more trigger-happy than before. Olga Oliker, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2018 See All Example Sentences for trigger-happy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trigger-happy
Adjective
  • The Houthis are what one veteran Yemen-watcher calls the honey badgers of resistance, referring to the belligerent mammal known for its fearless attitude toward predators.
    Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 6 Apr. 2025
  • The driver pulled out a gun and fired six shots, the witness said, hitting not only the belligerent passenger but also an uninvolved man sitting nearby.
    Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • For several years, Bolsonaro had engaged in a ferocious feud with the Supreme Court—and particularly with Alexandre de Moraes, a pugnacious jurist who is sometimes described as the second most powerful man in Brazil.
    Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025
  • Its shares have dropped 35 percent this calendar year, a vertiginous slide that has coincided with the abrupt rise of Mr. Musk’s pugnacious profile in government and politics.
    Jeff Sommer, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • In fact, most bird watchers have never seen aggregations of hummingbirds that were not actively fighting over food or mates, but astonishingly, one species has overcome their bellicose nature to nest peacefully in colonies.
    GrrlScientist, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Consider the People's Liberation Army's increasingly bellicose military and exercises in the Taiwan Strait.
    Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • While slightly less combative than Kayhan, Javan still conveyed conditional skepticism, framing Washington's intentions as unclear and demanding visible signs of commitment before endorsing the process.
    Raja Krishnamoorthi, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Shia LaBeouf accused of 'combative' acting, physical abuse This isn't the first time LaBeouf has been accused of professional misconduct and physical abuse.
    Edward Segarra, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The bottom line: Bipartisanship is the most obvious casualty of Schumer's new warlike posture toward the GOP.
    Hans Nichols, Axios, 21 Mar. 2025
  • Freyja, however, is a more warlike goddess, and even has a part in selecting warriors for her hall in the afterlife.
    Erik Kain, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • The prison has become a symbol of Bukele's aggressive policies that have targeted gang violence.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Young has struggled against the Heat’s aggressive defense in recent years.
    Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 17 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The group wrote to Bondi to argue that the influencer should be investigated over whether she has been paid to spread propaganda for Hamas, the Palestinian militant group in Gaza, it was first reported by the New York Post.
    Lauren Irwin, The Hill, 8 Apr. 2025
  • And in Lebanon, a series of Israeli attacks on the country have decapitated the militant group Hezbollah.
    Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Merz may have taken to heart a truculent speech Vance had given days earlier at the Munich Security Conference.
    Shane Harris, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2025
  • Giorgia’s leadership is threatened by increasingly truculent government allies, so Arianna is overseeing the backroom process of reverting their post-Fascist party to its more tribal roots.
    Mattia Ferraresi, airmail.news, 5 Oct. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Trigger-happy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trigger-happy. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.

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