definitions

draft dodger

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR draft dodger ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who evades or attempts to evade compulsory military service.

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RELATED WORDS

malingerer, delinquent, deserter, shirker, runaway, no-show

Nearby words

draft, draft animal, draft beer, draft board, draft chair, draft dodger, draft mark, draft mill, draft tube, draft-mule work, draft-quality printing

Origin of draft dodger

First recorded in 1935–40
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for draft dodger

draft dodger

noun

US one who evades compulsory military service
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

Culture definitions for draft dodger

draft dodger

Someone who illegally evades the draft, as opposed to a conscientious objector, who is granted official, legal exemption from military duty. In active protest against United States involvement in the Vietnam War, many Americans publicly burned draft registration cards, risking imprisonment; others fled to other countries, such as Canada.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.