1
as in commandants
one in official command especially of a military force or base
a surrender of the fort by the commander without a single shot having been fired
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in captains
a person in overall command of a ship
the intrepid commander of the HMS Surprise
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of commanders
At the multi-day NFL Combine-style event, hopeful commanders had to pass fitness and body fat testing before undergoing psychological evaluation.
—
Davis Winkie, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2025
Unlike expensive satellites or large drones such as the Global Hawk, Skydweller offers commanders a cheaper option for persistent monitoring.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Incident commanders described the fire as spreading west at a critical rate.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Zelenskyy said on Monday that Kyiv intends to expand such attacks, which Ukrainian officials and commanders have framed as a means to undermine Moscow's war effort and force the Kremlin into genuine negotiations.
—David Brennan, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2025
Norway's military still has a direct line to Russia's commanders, mostly to resolve issues about fisheries and other resources, but also to avert any potential armed crises at sea between the neighbors, Lage said.
—Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
Organizations need to bake drills into calendars, keep dashboards live, rotate incident commanders and tie executive compensation to measurable outcomes such as time to detect and time to recover.
—Emil Sayegh, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
That information enables commanders to launch defensive or offensive strikes in seconds, whether intercepting an incoming cruise missile, engaging hostile aircraft, or directing Tomahawk missiles at land targets hundreds of miles away.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 19 Aug. 2025
Davis Winkie, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2025
Unlike expensive satellites or large drones such as the Global Hawk, Skydweller offers commanders a cheaper option for persistent monitoring.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Incident commanders described the fire as spreading west at a critical rate.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Zelenskyy said on Monday that Kyiv intends to expand such attacks, which Ukrainian officials and commanders have framed as a means to undermine Moscow's war effort and force the Kremlin into genuine negotiations.
—David Brennan, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2025
Norway's military still has a direct line to Russia's commanders, mostly to resolve issues about fisheries and other resources, but also to avert any potential armed crises at sea between the neighbors, Lage said.
—Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
Organizations need to bake drills into calendars, keep dashboards live, rotate incident commanders and tie executive compensation to measurable outcomes such as time to detect and time to recover.
—Emil Sayegh, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
That information enables commanders to launch defensive or offensive strikes in seconds, whether intercepting an incoming cruise missile, engaging hostile aircraft, or directing Tomahawk missiles at land targets hundreds of miles away.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commanders
Noun
-
Young is one of the Panthers’ three permanent captains this season and the only one on offense.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Vera-Tucker was voted as one of the Jets’ six team captains at the end of August for the first time in his career.—
Ryan Canfield,
FOXNews.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Bamboo basket boats swirl through the Bay Mau nipa palm forest—their skippers casting nets in the shade of swaying fronds.—
Lewis Nunn,
Forbes.com,
24 Aug. 2025
-
Plants bloom throughout most of the year, attracting a diversity of skippers and butterflies, including Queens and the endangered Miami blue butterfly.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
19 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The airline also laid off pilots and sold some company assets.—
Vinod Sreeharsha,
Miami Herald,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Boeing previously admitted that two of its 737 MAX flight technical pilots deceived the Federal Aviation Administration’s aircraft evaluation group about an aircraft part known as MCAS that affected the flight control system of the Boeing 737 MAX.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Commanders.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commanders. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share