Meaning & use

pugilism

noun·Advanced

The sport or practice of boxing, especially as fought with bare or lightly padded fists.

See it in a sentence

The museum's exhibit traced the history of pugilism from bare-knuckle fights to modern boxing.

He studied pugilism as a young man before becoming a respected boxing coach.

A note on using this word

Pugilism is a formal or old-fashioned term for boxing, now used mainly in historical or literary contexts.

Words with a similar meaning

boxing

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

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