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• militant
  militant

  adjective

  aggressively active or combative in support of a cause.
• Militant
  Militant

  noun

  short for Militant Tendency

militant

American  

[mil-i-tuhnt] / ˈmɪl ɪ tənt /

adjective

1. aggressively active or combative in support of a cause.

   militant reformers.

   Synonyms:

   contentious, combative, belligerent

2. engaged in warfare; fighting.

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noun

• militants
  plural

1. a militant person.

2. a person engaged in warfare or combat.

militant ¹ British  

/ ˈmɪlɪtənt /

adjective

1. aggressive or vigorous, esp in the support of a cause

   a militant protest

2. warring; engaged in warfare

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noun

1. a militant person

Militant ² British  

/ ˈmɪlɪtənt /

noun

1. short for Militant Tendency

2. a member of Militant Tendency

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Synonym Usage

See fanatic.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• militancy
  noun
• militantness
  noun
• hypermilitant
  adjective
• nonmilitant
  adjective
• supermilitant
  adjective
• ultramilitant
  adjective
• unmilitant
  adjective
• hypermilitantly
  adverb
• militantly
  adverb
• nonmilitantly
  adverb
• unmilitantly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• militants
  plural

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”; see militate, -ant

Explanation

A militant is someone who is engaged in a war or who acts aggressively for their cause. If you are militant in your beliefs, you do not question them any more than a soldier questions his orders. In the context of undeclared or guerrilla warfare, enemy fighters are often referred to not as soldiers but as militants, because they are not members of a formal army. As an adjective, militant often has a negative feel — people on one side of a debate will often try to cast those on the other side as militants.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

militant Militant militants

Islamist militant groups operating from neighbouring Nigeria, Mali and Burkina Faso have plagued Niger for years, targeting both civilians and the military.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Pakistan has previously blamed the violence in border provinces on militant activity emanating from Afghanistan.

From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026

Giving testimony to the US Congress in May, Africom commander Gen Dagvin Anderson alleged that militant groups and narco-traffickers have been working together.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

Many Lebanese are turning against the militant group.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

I have always favored a more active, militant style of protest such as work strikes, go-slow strikes, or refusing to clean up; actions that punished the authorities, not ourselves.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

The article on its website mentions America Needs Fatima, Catholic Vote and Church Militant as some of the fellow organizers for the event.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2023

Militant environmentalism is more of a hook than a subject about which the film has a point of view.

From New York Times ● Apr. 6, 2023

In May, Voris acknowledged in emailed comments to Salon that "Church Militant might partner with anyone in a particular effort to achieve a limited and shared goal," such as opposing abortion.

From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2022

Militant leader Tayseer Jabari was among the dead.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2022

Until later, Gary, Your Militant Working Boy V Dr. Talc lit a Benson & Hedges, looking out of the window of his office in the Social Studies Building.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

American officials had doubts about the alleged scheme, as there was no evidence the militants had the required missile or firing system in Ankara, people familiar with the intelligence said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Turkish lawmakers on Monday voted through a bill offering limited amnesty for Kurdish PKK militants, a key step in the peace process that seeks to end decades of deadly violence.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

Since then, Riyadh has backed Yemen’s internationally recognized government and led the coalition of Arab militaries that supported its fight against the militants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

Oil prices climbed to close to $100 a barrel on Thursday after Yemen’s Houthi militants claimed attacks on two Saudi Arabian tankers in the Red Sea.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

Sometimes my own little brothers—unaware of what it really meant—would pretend to be Taliban militants or army soldiers.

From "Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Changed the World" by Malala Yousafzai

Related Words

• assertive
• bellicose
• belligerent
• militaristic
• vigorous
• warring