draft dodger

noun

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

draft dodger

noun

1. one who evades compulsory military service

draft dodger

1. 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of draft dodger¹

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Hundreds of U.S. generals summoned to Marine headquarters in Virginia to hear what a former Fox News personality and a five-time draft dodger want to demand of them.

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Park has been living in the country as what the military authorities consider a draft dodger.

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The president’s campaign released a digital ad featuring three veterans criticizing Donald Trump as ‘a draft dodger,’ unfit to be commander in chief.

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Was he a draft dodger who fled to Canada on principle to escape military service?

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It was Ali who was the rebel, and people considered him a draft dodger.

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Related Words

• absentee