as in soldier
a person, group, or country that fights in a war or battle
Britain was a major combatant in World War II.
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Recent Examples of combatant
The film will also explore the founding of the unit and the struggles the young women combatants faced in order to prove themselves and be taken seriously amid skepticism and discrimination from male counterparts.
—
Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 26 Jan. 2026
The combatants rolled into the saloon with neither getting the upper hand until Fossett managed to pull his pistol and put four shots into the unarmed Carver.
—Richard Selcer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Jan. 2026
Along with the life-saving food can be a message for the combatants to choose peace over the futility of war.
—William Lambers, Hartford Courant, 19 Jan. 2026
Except in this case, with no video footage, the online and talk-show combatants had less to draw from.
—James Ross Gardner, New Yorker, 16 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for combatant
Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 26 Jan. 2026
The combatants rolled into the saloon with neither getting the upper hand until Fossett managed to pull his pistol and put four shots into the unarmed Carver.
—Richard Selcer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Jan. 2026
Along with the life-saving food can be a message for the combatants to choose peace over the futility of war.
—William Lambers, Hartford Courant, 19 Jan. 2026
Except in this case, with no video footage, the online and talk-show combatants had less to draw from.
—James Ross Gardner, New Yorker, 16 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for combatant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combatant
Noun
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Israel's military has said its strikes are responses to Hamas violations of the ceasefire or militant attacks on its soldiers.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
5 Feb. 2026
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An acronym for Size, Activity, Location, Uniform, Time, Equipment, SALUTE is a mnemonic device that typically instructs soldiers how to systematically track details about enemies.—
Asra Q. Nomani , Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi,
FOXNews.com,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The camp in western Ethiopia is being used to prepare fighters to join the Rapid Support Forces militia, which is accused of perpetrating a genocide against Sudan’s Black population, according to Reuters.—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
10 Feb. 2026
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These include retiring the legacy B-1 and B-2 bombers only after sufficient B-21 aircraft are operational, and accelerating the procurement of existing fifth-generation fighters such as the F-35 and the F-15EX, as well as autonomous collaborative combat drones.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Keyboard warriors sent a slew of vile and threatening messages directly to Vann or posted online.—
Jane Harper,
Dallas Morning News,
7 Feb. 2026
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Seconds later, there was our reserved little boy, jumping his heart out next to a group of six-foot-something Maasai warriors.—
Flora Stubbs,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Warren establishes a Kempo Goju dojo in Kosovo Outside Kempo Goju, Warren served as a Wisconsin state trooper, and in 2000, his supervisors offered him an opportunity to travel to Europe to train police in Štrpce, Kosovo.—
Everett Eaton,
jsonline.com,
10 Feb. 2026
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The four Massachusetts State Police officers who have been charged with manslaughter in connection to the death of a trooper trainee Enrique Delgado-Garcia have been relieved of duty and had their certifications suspended.—
Colleen Cronin,
Boston Herald,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Combatant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combatant. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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