Definition of "pugilist" [pu•gil•ist]

• One who fights with his fists; especially a professional prize fighter; a boxer. (noun)

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• "According to the OED, a pugilist is one who practices the art of boxing -- a boxer or a fighter."
• "The pugilist is his own general and never learns the high lessons of obedience; the soldier learns to subordinate himself to his commander, and to fight bravely and effectively under the direction of another."
• "The fact that foreign nations are able to thrash them does not convince them that those nations are superior, any more than a gentleman's physical defeat by a pugilist would satisfy him that the pugilist is a better man."