Taliban

plural noun

Tal·​i·​ban ˈtä-li-ˌbän How to pronounce Taliban (audio)
ˈta-li-ˌban
: a fundamentalist Islamic militia in Afghanistan

Examples of Taliban in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Taliban typically plays ball. Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025 Ever since, as the Taliban returned to power, once again issuing edicts to suppress women and girls, the clinic and its 34-year-old midwife Atifa have continued to provide a lifeline for mothers and young children. Elise Blanchard, Time, 21 Aug. 2025 Since the 1970s, millions of people have fled Afghanistan for Iran and Pakistan, especially during the Soviet invasion in 1979 and the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Mushtaq Yusufzai, NBC news, 20 Aug. 2025 Over the course of the past four years since the Taliban took control of Kabul, plunging Afghanistan into a humanitarian crisis and stripping away women's rights, millions of Afghans who initially fled have now been expelled from Iran and Pakistan, according to the United Nations. Trisha Mukherjee, ABC News, 16 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for Taliban

Word History

Etymology

Pashto & Persian ṭālibān, plural of ṭālib student, seeker, from Arabic

First Known Use

1992, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Taliban was in 1992

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Cite this Entry

“Taliban.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Taliban. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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