as in soldiers
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 combatants
International humanitarian law provides broad protections for children as non-combatants.
—
Margaret Brennan, CBS News, 31 May 2026
The service was also facing the retirement of older, larger ships and was looking for ways to maintain its fleet size with smaller surface combatants that could be built more quickly and cheaply than bigger vessels, the report said.
—Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 28 May 2026
In a society traumatized by the violence of the last 70 years, the new president came to power seeking to resume the path established by the 2016 peace agreement, in which about 13,000 FARC combatants and sympathizers exchanged armed struggle for amnesty and state protection.
—Roberto Andrés, The Dial, 28 May 2026
Responding to Toboso According to officials, all of those killed in a series of clashes were combatants of the NPA, a Maoist guerrilla group that seeks to seize political power from Manila.
—Patrick Peralta, The Conversation, 28 May 2026
The gender of female combatants was discovered only when they were wounded or killed.
—Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 May 2026
In experiments inspired by drone warfare, his team asked participants to categorize images as civilians or enemy combatants and to choose whether to fire a missile at each potential target.
—Steven Melendez, Scientific American, 22 May 2026
ARoss’ Brand Risk brand has built a lane staging chaos between unlikely combatants.
—Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
At the same time, the new combatants, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on the one side and the Soviets and their allies on the other, had different approaches to how their tanks were used.
—Matthew S Williams, Interesting Engineering, 20 May 2026
Margaret Brennan, CBS News, 31 May 2026
The service was also facing the retirement of older, larger ships and was looking for ways to maintain its fleet size with smaller surface combatants that could be built more quickly and cheaply than bigger vessels, the report said.
—Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 28 May 2026
In a society traumatized by the violence of the last 70 years, the new president came to power seeking to resume the path established by the 2016 peace agreement, in which about 13,000 FARC combatants and sympathizers exchanged armed struggle for amnesty and state protection.
—Roberto Andrés, The Dial, 28 May 2026
Responding to Toboso According to officials, all of those killed in a series of clashes were combatants of the NPA, a Maoist guerrilla group that seeks to seize political power from Manila.
—Patrick Peralta, The Conversation, 28 May 2026
The gender of female combatants was discovered only when they were wounded or killed.
—Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 May 2026
In experiments inspired by drone warfare, his team asked participants to categorize images as civilians or enemy combatants and to choose whether to fire a missile at each potential target.
—Steven Melendez, Scientific American, 22 May 2026
ARoss’ Brand Risk brand has built a lane staging chaos between unlikely combatants.
—Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
At the same time, the new combatants, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on the one side and the Soviets and their allies on the other, had different approaches to how their tanks were used.
—Matthew S Williams, Interesting Engineering, 20 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combatants
Noun
-
Crow and Creepy, the call signs of two soldiers from the 24th Mechanized Brigade, have spent 344 and 334 days respectively, non-stop, in frontline dugouts.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
30 May 2026
-
Ishikawa herself worked in one of the bars that served Black soldiers, at a time when most establishments were segregated.—
Hilton Als,
New Yorker,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
In this case, the troopers did not commit a willful interception under the wiretap statute, the high court ruled.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
3 June 2026
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The decision to send in state troopers – some on horseback – infuriated many protesters while drawing praise from Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.—
Leigh Waldman,
CNN Money,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
The military isn’t the only government entity working with the UFC — the FBI recently hosted a training partnership with UFC fighters.—
Paula Chesley,
STAT,
3 June 2026
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Given Coker’s track record and the desire to build attention for the new MMA league and its fighters, tournaments are expected to play a key role.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
No one wanted to stand behind the commanding warriors, draped in blankets and furs, brass hoops in their earlobes, medals and wampum on their strong chests, silver armbands glinting in the light.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 May 2026
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At the end of the day, these are just salty fans and keyboard warriors, so their opinions probably mean next to nothing in the eyes of Edwards.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Combatants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combatants. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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