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dragoon

[ druh-goon ]
/ drəˈgun /
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See synonyms for: dragoon / dragooned / dragooning / dragoons on Thesaurus.com
noun
(especially formerly) a European cavalryman of a heavily armed troop.
a member of a military unit formerly composed of such cavalrymen, as in the British army.
(formerly) a mounted infantryman armed with a short musket.
verb (used with object)
to set dragoons or soldiers upon; persecute by armed force; oppress.
to force by oppressive measures; coerce: The authorities dragooned the peasants into leaving their farms.
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Origin of dragoon

1615–25; <French dragon, special use of dragondragon, applied first to a pistol hammer (so named because of its shape), then to the firearm, then to the troops so armed

OTHER WORDS FROM dragoon

dra·goon·age, nounun·dra·gooned, adjective

Words nearby dragoon

dragon's head, dragon's mouth, dragon's tail, dragon's teeth, dragon tree, dragoon, drag out of, drag queen, drag race, drag rake, dragrope
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to dragoon

badger, bully, coerce, harass, hector, intimidate, lean on, oppress, bludgeon, browbeat, persecute, terrorize, threaten, torment, torture, repress, strong-arm, suppress, constrain, enforce

How to use dragoon in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dragoon

dragoon
/ (drəˈɡuːn) /
noun
(originally) a mounted infantryman armed with a carbine
(sometimes capital) a domestic fancy pigeon
  1. a type of cavalryman
  2. (pl; cap when part of a name)the Royal Dragoons
verb (tr)
to coerce; forcehe was dragooned into admitting it
to persecute by military force

Derived forms of dragoon

dragoonage, noun

Word Origin for dragoon

C17: from French dragon (special use of dragon), soldier armed with a carbine, perhaps suggesting that a carbine, like a dragon, breathed forth fire
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
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