combatant

[kuhm-bat-nt, kom-buh-tuhnt, kuhm-]

noun

1. a nation engaged in active fighting with enemy forces.

2. a person or group that fights.

adjective

1. combating; fighting.

   the combatant armies.

2. disposed to combat; combative.

combatant

/ ˈkʌm-, ˈkɒmbətənt /

noun

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

adjective

1. engaged in or ready for combat

Other Word Forms

• precombatant noun
• uncombatant adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of combatant¹

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

Example Sentences

More than two dozen people were killed in Gaza, and more than a dozen in Lebanon in the attacks, according to local health ministries, which don’t say how many were combatants.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN, does not specify the number of combatants killed but indicates that more than half of the deaths are minors and women.

Read more on Barron's

The enclave was left in ruins, and more than 69,000 people died, according to Palestinian health authorities, who don’t say how many were combatants.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Initial reprisals by the Israeli army two years later have led to nearly 70,000 deaths of civilians and combatants, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Lafayette Square in the first term, the use of federal officers in Portland, the rhetoric of “enemy combatants” applied to citizens.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• adversary 
• antagonist 
• assailant 
• attacker www.thesaurus.com
• enemy 
• serviceman 
• soldier 

When To Use

What does combatant mean?

A combatant is one of the sides engaged in combat—active fighting.In war, enemy combatants are the opposing sides in the war or battle.In boxing and other martial arts, the two fighters can be called combatants.The word combat is sometimes used more broadly or figuratively to refer to active conflict between two people or groups, as in The two corporations are preparing to do combat in the courtroom. The sides in this kind of combat can also be called combatants.Less commonly, combatant can be used as an adjective meaning engaged in fighting. It can also mean inclined to fight, but the word combative is more commonly used in this way.Example: If diplomacy fails, the two nations could become enemy combatants.