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
Those figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
—
Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 8 Jan. 2026
Colby stands next to Coach — the two combatants from a furious Day 1 challenge exactly 30 seasons ago.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Jan. 2026
Many are drawn from intelligence and police units and view themselves as ideological combatants preparing for a prolonged confrontation.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 7 Jan. 2026
Paramount Skydance, which is pursuing its own hostile bid for WBD, is backed by Oracle, one of the main combatants in the global AI race.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 4 Jan. 2026
Japan would also procure five wide-range spy UAVs to support commanders’ decisions and firepower projection by detecting surface combatants at long range, and three shore- and underwater-obstacle detection UAVs under the budget.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 26 Dec. 2025
The Navy's Zumwalt‑class destroyers — the largest surface combatants currently at 15,000 tons — were reduced from 32 to three ships due to spiraling costs.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 26 Dec. 2025
But despite the lack of Fall Classic combatants, there were plenty of intriguing elements to the awards, which honored 20 players from the National and American leagues.
—Alex Valdes, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants and cannot be independently verified by TIME.
—Callum Sutherland, Time, 29 Oct. 2025
Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 8 Jan. 2026
Colby stands next to Coach — the two combatants from a furious Day 1 challenge exactly 30 seasons ago.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Jan. 2026
Many are drawn from intelligence and police units and view themselves as ideological combatants preparing for a prolonged confrontation.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 7 Jan. 2026
Paramount Skydance, which is pursuing its own hostile bid for WBD, is backed by Oracle, one of the main combatants in the global AI race.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 4 Jan. 2026
Japan would also procure five wide-range spy UAVs to support commanders’ decisions and firepower projection by detecting surface combatants at long range, and three shore- and underwater-obstacle detection UAVs under the budget.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 26 Dec. 2025
The Navy's Zumwalt‑class destroyers — the largest surface combatants currently at 15,000 tons — were reduced from 32 to three ships due to spiraling costs.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 26 Dec. 2025
But despite the lack of Fall Classic combatants, there were plenty of intriguing elements to the awards, which honored 20 players from the National and American leagues.
—Alex Valdes, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants and cannot be independently verified by TIME.
—Callum Sutherland, Time, 29 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combatants
Noun
-
Among the deceased were colonels, lieutenants, majors and captains and some reserve soldiers, ranging in age from 26 to 60, The Associated Press reported.—
Louis Casiano,
FOXNews.com,
7 Jan. 2026
-
And those soldiers will come from Connecticut and the other 49 states and the territories and the district.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Karasani is described by state troopers as an Asian man who is about 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs 130 lbs.—
Abigail Adams,
PEOPLE,
14 Jan. 2026
-
The driver allegedly attempted to flee on foot but was caught by troopers about 300 meters away, state police said.—
Staff Report,
Hartford Courant,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Carrying a 1,000-pound penetrating warhead and with a range of up to 620 miles (1,000 kilometers), the JASSM can also be fired well off Iranian shores from a range of US Air Force jets, including F-15, F-16 and F-35 fighters and B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers, as well as US Navy F/A-18 fighters.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
14 Jan. 2026
-
The bit began with two UFC fighters who emerged to serve as their personal bodyguards against any ravenous super-fans.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The fact that this extremely complex and grueling mission was successfully executed with so few injuries is a testament to the expertise of our joint warriors.—
January 8,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Loyalty, even in the face of death Two thousand years later, and half a world away, the samurai warriors of Japan also famously focused on honor.—
Kenneth Andrew Andres Leonardo,
The Conversation,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Combatants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combatants. Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.
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