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.
Pakistan denied hitting a clinic, stating it carried out precision strikes on militant support infrastructure and ammunition storage facilities.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
The Puntland Forces managed to push IS-Somalia out of Bosaso at the start of 2025, but the militant group still controlled villages and small towns in the nearby al-Miskad mountains.
From BBC • Mar. 15, 2026
A Rand report, Hezbollah’s Networks in Latin America, found that the militant group had a considerable network that was active in the Southern Hemisphere.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026
Such a move would raise hackles in Turkey, which has fought a decades-long bloody conflict with the Kurdish militant group PKK, which it is now seeking to end.
From Barron's • Mar. 7, 2026
When Dr. Du Bois had come to Ghana, she told me, Dr. Nkrumah had set up the aging great militant Afro-American scholar like a king, giving to Dr. Du Bois everything he could wish for.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
