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.
Sometimes it was Rust Knights and Wyverns against Wardens and Warlords and sometimes it was changed up.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 10, 2023
Talia Lavin, author of "Culture Warlords: My Journey into the Dark Web of White Supremacy," explores the power of denial among Democratic leaders in a recent essay at MSNBC:
From Salon • Aug. 4, 2021
The new film is directed by Adam Wishart, a British director known for the Channel 4 documentary about Somali warlords living in the suburbs, Warlords Next Door?
From The Verge • Jul. 8, 2021
Other highlights include posters for sci-fi films such as Warlords of Atlantis and At The Earth’s Core, the 1960s classics Easy Rider and How To Steal a Million, starring Audrey Hepburn and Peter O’Toole.
From The Guardian • Jul. 29, 2018
One time, Atmananda took us to Warlords of Atlantis.
From Take Me for a Ride: coming of age in a destructive cult by Laxer, Mark Eliot
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.
