combatant

[ kuh m-bat-nt, kom-buh-tuh nt, kuhm- ]

/ kəmˈbæt nt, ˈkɒm bə tənt, ˈkʌm- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR combatant ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a nation engaged in active fighting with enemy forces.

a person or group that fights.

adjective

combating; fighting: the combatant armies.

disposed to combat; combative.

Nearby words

Origin of combatant

1425–75; late Middle English combataunt < Middle French combatant. See combat, -ant

Related formspre·com·bat·ant, nounun·com·bat·ant, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for combatant

It is immaterial if the infidel is a combatant or a civilian.
The CIA’s Wrong: Arming Rebels Works|Christopher Dickey|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Of most interest are the English-speaking narrator and a masked American-accented combatant featured in the film.
How ISIS Ripped Off ‘Natural Born Killers'|Jamie Dettmer|September 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Both my combatant and I claimed that the other was at fault.
Ben Carson Was a Role Model for Black Teens Until He Sold Out to the Right|Joshua DuBois|March 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Simply redistributing power to combatant factions on the basis of the territory under their control would be a huge error.
Second Chance At Building A State in South Sudan|John Prendergast|January 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST

But you have deep respect for your combatant who you went through it with.
Plouffe: Hillary Clinton ‘Probably the Strongest Candidate’ for 2016|Lloyd Grove|March 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And already he had passed the spears: one gage was forgotten, one combatant unblessed.
The Fair God|Lew Wallace
The goats themselves soon lost their power to struggle against such a combatant.
The Solitary of Juan Fernandez, or The Real Robinson Crusoe|Joseph Xavier Saintine
To provide in successive bodies adequate numbers of men to be trained and used as combatant forces.
World's War Events, Vol. II|Various
But in his rage Mr. Palsey had forgotten how much weaker and smaller he was than his combatant.
Daisy Ashford: Her Book|Daisy Ashford
At these fierce engagements Nicholson was present as a commissariat officer, and not, to his regret, as a combatant.
John Nicholson|R. E. Cholmeley

British Dictionary definitions for combatant

combatant

/ (ˈkɒmbətənt, ˈkʌm-) /

noun

a person or group engaged in or prepared for a fight, struggle, or dispute

adjective

engaged in or ready for combat

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for combatant

combatant

mid-15c. (adj.), late 15c. (n.), from Old French combatant (Modern French combattant) "skilled at fighting, warlike" (also used as a noun in Old French), present participle adjective of combattre (see combat (v.)).

combatant

noun

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of combatant

Examples from the Web for combatant

combatant

noun

adjective

combatant