conscript

1 of 3

noun

con·​script ˈkän-ˌskript 

: a conscripted person (such as a military recruit)

conscript

2 of 3

adjective

con·​script ˈkän-ˌskript 

1

: enrolled into service by compulsion : drafted

2

: made up of conscripted persons

conscript

3 of 3

verb

con·​script kən-ˈskript 

conscripted; conscripting; conscripts

transitive verb

: to enroll into service by compulsion : draft

was conscripted into the army

Synonyms of conscript

Noun

• recruit
• draftee

Verb

• draft
• recruit
• enlist

Examples of conscript in a Sentence

Noun

as the war continued, the body of enlisted soldiers was supplemented by an increasing number of conscripts

Verb

The government is conscripting men for the army.

He was conscripted into the army.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

On Tuesday, a strike on an army base in southeastern Iran killed seven soldiers, five of whom were young conscripts. — Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026

The report said seven were killed in the attack, including conscripts and career soldiers. — Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2026

Adjective

Taipei’s conscript system, like South Korea’s, is under pressure, with social contract cracks and skills matrices not always matching operational need. — Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2025

Russia has reserves of conscript soldiers it is prohibited by its policies from deploying into Ukraine, but could on Russian soil. — Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 9 Aug. 2024

Verb

After Taylor left the band in 1974, the Stones conscripted Ron Wood, formerly of the Jeff Beck Group and the Faces. — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 July 2026

The Sudanese conflict has conscripted the neighboring countries who are selfishly courting either faction for resources or political standing, as well as greedy, exploitative foreign powers who repeatedly leverage religious and cultural tensions in the region, into the fight for profit. — Janine Di Giovanni, Vanity Fair, 25 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

alteration of French conscrit, from Latin conscriptus, past participle of conscribere to enroll, enlist, from com- + scribere to write — more at scribe

First Known Use

Noun

1799, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1804, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1813, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for conscript

• decrypt
• descript
• encrypt
• equipped
• outstripped
• postscript
• rescript
• subscript
• transcript
• transhipped
• typescript
• unzipped

Kids Definition

conscript

1 of 3 adjective

con·​script ˈkän-ˌskript 

1

: enrolled into service by force

2

: made up of conscripted persons

conscript

2 of 3 verb

con·​script kən-ˈskript 

: to enroll into service by force : draft

was conscripted into the army

conscription

kən-ˈskrip-shən

noun

conscript

3 of 3 noun

con·​script ˈkän-ˌskript 

: a conscripted person (as a military recruit)