warlord
Americannoun
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a military leader, especially of a warlike nation.
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a military commander who has seized power, especially in one section of a country.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of warlord
Explanation
An aggressive military commander with extremely loyal forces is sometimes called a warlord. Warlords usually control a small territory within a country. According to political scientists, warlords tend to gain power following the fall of a large empire and the rise of small, weak states in its place. The main thing distinguishing warlords from other types of rulers is that they have loyal followers who are well armed and obedient to the individual warlord rather than the actual government. The term warlord dates from the 1850s, but it wasn't common until the 1920s.
Vocabulary lists containing warlord
Africa - Middle School
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Africa - High School
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The Middle East and Central Asia - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Rather than studiously ignoring the intergalactic warlord, as some may have been tempted to do, Burnham shook him warmly by the hand as he was elected Labour MP for Makerfield.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
While Kim grew closer to Kremlin-linked businessmen, her newly estranged husband, Bakalchuk, enlisted the support of Ramzan Kadyrov, a former warlord and current head of Chechnya who intervenes in business disputes in return for cash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
The region is replete with dissidents loyal to warlord Nestor Gregorio Vera Fernandez -- better known as Ivan Mordisco, Colombia's most wanted guerrilla.
From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026
Their warlord father is displeased with both of them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2025
“The man you know as Serakeen—the bloodthirsty warlord, the Scourge of the East—is a fabrication, a useful myth we’ve concocted. But I’m afraid he doesn’t exist.”
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
