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combatant
/ ˈkʌm-; ˈkɒmbətənt /
noun
- a person or group engaged in or prepared for a fight, struggle, or dispute
adjective
- engaged in or ready for combat
Other Word Forms
- cdz·aԳ noun
- ܲcdz·aԳ adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of combatant1
Example Sentences
The government ultimately dropped the “enemy combatant” label it had used to create a legal black hole for detainees.
He ruled that “a wartime president can indefinitely detain a United States citizen captured as an enemy combatant on the battlefield and deny that person access to a lawyer.”
Of the two combatants in this fight, Lively now has the better opportunity to play a more effective game and win.
They’re all good — from the wounded combatants who spend half of the movie in so much agony they’re nonverbal to the bit players like Gandolfini who only register for a scene or two of panic.
They did not identify the number of combatants killed - Israel says it targeted Hamas commanders.
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More About Combatant
doescombatant mean?
A combatant is one of the sides engaged in combat—active fighting.
In war, enemy combatants are the opposing sides in the war or battle.
In boxing and other martial arts, the two fighters can be called combatants.
The word combat is sometimes used more broadly or figuratively to refer to active conflict between two people or groups, as in The two corporations are preparing to do combat in the courtroom. The sides in this kind of combat can also be called combatants.
Less commonly, combatant can be used as an adjective meaning engaged in fighting. It can also mean inclined to fight, but the word combative is more commonly used in this way.
Example: If diplomacy fails, the two nations could become enemy combatants.
Where doescombatant come from?
The first records of the word combatant come from the 1400s. It comes from the Late Latin combattere, from com-, meaning “with” or “together,” and the Latin verb battuere, meaning “to strike” or “to beat.” The word battle is based on this same root. The suffix -ant is used to form nouns.
Just like there can’t be a battle without at least two sides, a person or group really can’t be considered a combatant unless they are engaged in combat with another combatant. The word is most often associated with physical fighting. Even when the word is used in a figurative way, it often likens the sides in the conflict to physical fighters, implying that the conflict is an intense one.
Did you know ... ?
are some other forms related to combatant?
- combat (noun, verb)
are some synonyms for combatant?
are some words that share a root or word element with combatant?
are some words that often get used in discussing combatant?
How iscombatant used in real life?
Combatant is most commonly used in a military context, but it can be used in many other contexts involving some kind of conflict.
"… motives included a desire to outscore other patrols in the number of enemy combatants killed, to clear at all costs the battlefield of people believed to be insurgents and to initiate new soldiers into a brotherhood of combat."
— Malachy Browne (@malachybrowne)
Astonishing that is on TV right now defending NYPD for treating peaceful protestors like enemy combatants this summer.
“It doesn’t sound right at all to me,” in response to this lawsuit.
— lauren vega (@lauxvega)
Compatriots become combatants. kicks-off at 4pm!
— NRL (@NRL)
Try usingcombatant!
Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of combatant?
A. adversary
B. ally
C. foe
D. fighter
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