warlord

[wawr-lawrd]

noun

1. a military leader, especially of a warlike nation.

2. a military commander who has seized power, especially in one section of a country.

3. tuchun.

warlord

/ ˈwɔːˌlɔːd /

noun

1. a military leader of a nation or part of a nation, esp one who is accountable to nobody when the central government is weak

   the Chinese warlords

Other Word Forms

• warlordism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of warlord¹

First recorded in 1855–60; war ¹ + lord

Example Sentences

As the meeting place for foreign journalists and diplomats, local politicians and warlords, the Inter-Con long functioned as a vital institution of Afghanistan’s public life.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It was minted by a Viking warlord after he became a Christian king, known as Aethelstan II.

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Their warlord father is displeased with both of them.

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Fifteen years later, Libya remains a basket case of militias, warlords and weak institutions.

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The actor also played the doomed warlord who divides his kingdom between his sons in "Ran", Kurosawa's 1985 film based on the Shakespeare play "King Lear".

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• assailant 
• boxer 
• champion 
• combatant 
• mercenary 
• militant 
• opponent 
• soldier 
• tanker 
• warrior