n. The act or characteristic of being aggressive or combative.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
n. Inclination or readiness to fight; quarrelsomeness.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. The quality of being pugnacious; disposition to fight; quarrelsomeness.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
n. a natural disposition to be hostile
Word Usage
"Thus, for McDougall, the tender emotion is the emotional aspect of the instinct of pity, anger of the instinct of pugnacity, which is, as an impulse, the tendency to strike and destroy."