conscientious objector

American  

[kon-shee-en-shuhs uhb-jek-ter, kon-see‐] / ˌkɒn ʃiˈɛn ʃəs əbˈdʒɛk tər, ˌkɒn si‐ /

noun

1. a person who refuses on moral or religious grounds to serve in the armed forces or to bear arms in a military conflict.

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conscientious objector British  

noun

1. a person who refuses to serve in the armed forces on the grounds of conscience

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conscientious objector Cultural  

1. A person who refuses to render military service on the grounds of moral principle or religious belief. A CO must demonstrate a sincere, active, and long-standing objection in order to receive an exemption from armed service. The United States and some European governments officially recognize CO status; approved COs are usually required to perform social service or noncombat military service in place of armed duty. (See also draft, draft dodger, and Selective Service System.)

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Etymology

Origin of conscientious objector

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

He declared himself a conscientious objector during World War II. He was imprisoned, abandoned by his family and returned to Birmingham only to be further ostracized.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026

In 1985, as the Year of the Pacific approached, the ship’s captain was Peter Willcox, a lifelong seaman and conscientious objector from Vietnam who’d devoted his career to environmental action on the oceans.

From Slate • Jul. 22, 2025

Gumbleton said if he were a young man drafted into U.S. military service at that time he would go to jail or even leave the country if turned down as a conscientious objector.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 4, 2024

He graduated from Trinity College with a degree in English in 1969, then performed alternative service at a psychiatric hospital in Boston as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 26, 2023

During the Vietnam War, he was a conscientious objector, and there is still something of the ’60s hippie about him, like the Mao cap he sometimes wears over his braided yarmulke.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell