as in defendant
law
someone who brings a legal action against another person or against whom a legal action is brought
Both litigants chose to represent themselves in court.
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Recent Examples of litigant
He's been a very active litigant in cases that are designed to punish and to push back on the coverage in these spaces.
—
Dana Taylor, USA Today, 9 Feb. 2026
Councilors Tiffany Koyama Lane and Mitch Green personally offered to connect prospective litigants with the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon and the state attorney general’s office.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 7 Feb. 2026
Such reactions from a judge are not generally considered a favorable omen for a litigant.
—David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2026
Such a result would be nonsensical and a miscarriage of justice to the Bevins and other divorce litigants in Kentucky.
—Lucas Aulbach, Louisville Courier Journal, 8 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for litigant
Dana Taylor, USA Today, 9 Feb. 2026
Councilors Tiffany Koyama Lane and Mitch Green personally offered to connect prospective litigants with the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon and the state attorney general’s office.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 7 Feb. 2026
Such reactions from a judge are not generally considered a favorable omen for a litigant.
—David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2026
Such a result would be nonsensical and a miscarriage of justice to the Bevins and other divorce litigants in Kentucky.
—Lucas Aulbach, Louisville Courier Journal, 8 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for litigant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for litigant
Noun
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All three co-defendants have pleaded not guilty in their cases.—
Julia Coin,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Mar. 2026
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One morning, Amber Lowrey, the sister of a defendant named Savanna Batten, showed up early after dropping her kids off at school.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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There are certainly areas for all parties to improve, Hernandez said.—
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
23 Mar. 2026
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There are a lot of issues in government that can be the subject of reasonable and well-informed discussion, where different parties might fall on different answers.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But even if the plaintiffs are victorious, there’s no clear road ahead for how damages will be assessed.—
Kate Nishimura,
Sourcing Journal,
24 Mar. 2026
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ProPublica and the Tennessee Lookout previously reported how, after creating the new type of payday loan, Advance has gone on to sue more than 110,000 Tennesseans, making the company one of the single largest plaintiffs in the state.—
ProPublica,
ProPublica,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Litigant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/litigant. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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