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
Across the world, for all military battles where such data is available, the average army kills nine enemy non-combatants for every fighter killed.
—
Oded J K Faran, Oc Register, 21 Oct. 2025
Under the law, unarmed combatants held in military custody are allowed to protest their detention in court.
—Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2025
The combatants supposedly have a $2 million side bet.
—Miami Herald, 13 Oct. 2025
In Israel's ensuing offensive, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children.
—Arkansas Online, 12 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for combatant
Oded J K Faran, Oc Register, 21 Oct. 2025
Under the law, unarmed combatants held in military custody are allowed to protest their detention in court.
—Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2025
The combatants supposedly have a $2 million side bet.
—Miami Herald, 13 Oct. 2025
In Israel's ensuing offensive, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children.
—Arkansas Online, 12 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for combatant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combatant
Noun
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Earlier this year, the Israeli military retrieved the body of another soldier who was killed in the 2014 war.—
Stephen Sorace,
FOXNews.com,
9 Nov. 2025
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Just off the Gregory House, a trail leads to the Hammock Landing Battery, where Confederate soldiers guarded the river from attack, protecting their manufacturing hub in Columbus, Georgia.—
Carrie Honaker,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Ever the fighter, Cuomo refused to drop out of the mayoral race after losing the primary, electing to run as a third party candidate in the hopes of rallying support from voters who saw Mamdani as too untested and too far left to govern effectively.—
Alex J. Rouhandeh,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
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Our assignment everywhere is to send the strongest fighters for the working class wherever possible.—
Domenico Montanaro,
NPR,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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One was Xena, like the warrior-princess of the 1990s TV series.—
Joanna Kakissis,
NPR,
11 Nov. 2025
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The movie tells the story of a dozen elite warriors from around the world who are kidnapped and forced to take part in fight-to-the-death survival games.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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State troopers were on scene while the power lines were cleared from the roadway.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
7 Nov. 2025
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The trooper went back to his colleagues for a few minutes, then came back to arrest him.—
Verónica Egui Brito,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Combatant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combatant. Accessed 19 Nov. 2025.
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