professional pugilist
- noun
- /prəˈfɛʃənl ˈpjuːdʒɪlɪst/
:
pugilista profesional
- The professional pugilist delivered a powerful punch that knocked his opponent out in the first round.
Examples
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He trained for years to become a professional pugilist and compete at the national level.
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The professional pugilist trained hard for his next fight.
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After retiring as a professional pugilist, she became a respected coach.
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Many admire the discipline required to be a successful professional pugilist.
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Mike Tyson was a famous professional pugilist in the 1990s.
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After years of intense training, he finally became a professional pugilist who fought for the championship title.
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As a professional pugilist, she travels around the world to compete in various boxing matches.
Synonyms
106
1.0
A person who fights using their fists in a sport with rules
7
6.0
A boxer who fights for money
4
8.5
A person who fights with their fists, often as a professional boxer
A person who fights with fists, like a boxer
How Professional
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is fully compositional: 'professional' (paid/working in a profession) plus 'pugilist' (a boxer) yields 'a paid/paid-for boxer', so a learner who knows both constituents can derive the intended meaning. Although 'pugilist' is a relatively rare or literary word, that does not affect transparency—if the learner knows the constituent meanings the compound is immediately interpretable and mirrors straightforward cross-linguistic patterns.
Etymology
Professional pugilist puts together professional (a person who is paid and trained) and pugilist, an old word tied to the idea of a 'fist'. Think of a trained fighter using their fists—so the phrase means a paid 'boxer'.