militant
Americanadjective
-
aggressively active or combative in support of a cause.
militant reformers.
- Synonyms:
- contentious, combative, belligerent
-
engaged in warfare; fighting.
noun
-
a militant person.
-
a person engaged in warfare or combat.
adjective
-
aggressive or vigorous, esp in the support of a cause
a militant protest
-
warring; engaged in warfare
noun
noun
-
short for Militant Tendency
-
a member of Militant Tendency
Related Words
See fanatic.
Other Word Forms
- hypermilitant adjective
- hypermilitantly adverb
- militancy noun
- militantly adverb
- militantness noun
- nonmilitant adjective
- nonmilitantly adverb
- supermilitant adjective
- ultramilitant adjective
- unmilitant adjective
- unmilitantly adverb
Etymology
Origin of militant
First recorded in 1400–1450; late Middle English, from Latin mīlitant- (stem of mīlitāns ), present participle of mīlitāre “to serve as a soldier”; militate, -ant
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Somali government, which has long been battling al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militants as it tries to rebuild the country after a devastating civil war and years of drought, has yet to comment.
From BBC
Save the Children was one of about 10 NGOs whose applications were rejected outright, on grounds that it allegedly had ties to a militant group.
Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab -- which has fought the Somali government for around two decades -- has vowed to fight any attempt by Israel to use Somaliland as a base.
From Barron's
Citing witnesses, it said that the militants had seized control of the town for a few hours.
From Barron's
The self-declared nation relies on tribal sources to gather information on the militants but lacks access to more high-tech reconnaissance and interception technologies of the type Israel could provide.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
