noncombatant

noun

non·​com·​bat·​ant ˌnän-kəm-ˈba-tᵊnt 

also

ˌnän-ˈkäm-bə-tənt 

: one that does not engage in combat: such as

a

: a member (such as a chaplain) of the armed forces whose duties do not include fighting

b

: civilian

noncombatant adjective

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Its gubernatorial candidate couldn’t even mount a competitive campaign against a noncombatant. —George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 10 Nov. 2022

Alessandro Nivola channels James Caan as a policeman who compensates cruelly for the drubbing that his self-image takes as a noncombatant owing to flat feet. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2022

Readily giving his military ID number but speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, the noncombatant said that two detainees died after beatings and another died from lack of medication for a preexisting condition. —BostonGlobe.com, 18 Aug. 2021

The job of writing the official ballot descriptions should be turned over to a neutral noncombatant such as the nonpartisan state Legislative Analyst’s Office. —George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 12 Nov. 2020

Produced by Steven Soderbergh and directed by Paul Pawlowski, this documentary tells the story of a soldier who allegedly ordered his men to fire on noncombatants in Afghanistan. —Noel Murray, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2020

Insomnia affects up to 41 percent of active-duty military personnel deployed to combat zones, 25 percent of noncombatants and 20 percent of those getting ready to deploy. —Sig Christenson, ExpressNews.com, 24 Feb. 2020

As the Delta Force team breached the wall with explosives, an Arabic linguist advised children and other noncombatants how to flee, a decision commanders credited with saving 11 of the children Mr. al-Baghdadi had in his compound. —Eric Schmitt, New York Times, 27 Oct. 2019

These are his mother and siblings and younger self, in 1968, noncombatants caught in the midst of Nigeria’s civil war over the breakaway region of Biafra. —Jesse Green, New York Times, 23 Sep. 2019

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Word History

First Known Use

1811, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

noncombatant

noun

non·​com·​ba·​tant

ˌnän-kəm-ˈbat-ᵊnt,

(ˈ)nän-ˈkäm-bət-ənt

1

: a member (as a chaplain) of the armed forces whose duties do not include fighting

2

: civilian

noncombatant adjective