combatants

noun

plural of combatant
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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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 combatants The Dominion battled right back with a pair of stereo suplexes, but Jamie Hayter and Alex Windsor hit stereo clotheslines as all four combatants were laid out. — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026 In a campaign known as Operation Wandering Soul, US forces played recordings of eerie sounds and voices where combatants were fighting in the jungle. — Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026 The Korean War of 1950-1953 made the Cold War global, with China and the United States as direct combatants. — Arthur I. Cyr, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026 Hours of fierce fighting between government troops and militias that killed dozens of combatants in Somalia’s southwestern city of Baidoa also left at least four civilians dead and 98 others wounded, a hospital official said Tuesday. — ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026 And right now, all that means is finding the rest of the enemy combatants. — Andy Andersen, Vulture, 16 Aug. 2026 The near flattening of Gaza by Israel – with the accompanying death toll of more than 70,000 Palestinians, both civilians and combatants – has captured world attention. — Dina Kraft, Christian Science Monitor, 12 Aug. 2026 This mode is also another chance to reinterpret Marvel through an anime lens, this time turning the mighty combatants into adorable, chibi versions of themselves. — Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 11 Aug. 2026 Far from stabilizing Lebanon, the multinational forces soon became targets and combatants in the widening war. — Kori Schake, Foreign Affairs, 6 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combatants
  1. soldiers
  2. fighters
  3. troopers
  4. warriors
Noun
  • Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, which traces its roots to 1954, involved around 18,000 Korean troops and an undisclosed number of American soldiers this year.
    — Lisa Kim, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The good news is the world has not seen a successful military coup since November of last year, when soldiers deposed the president of Guinea-Bissau on the coast of West Africa.
    — Keith B. Richburg, Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of soldiers
Noun
  • Kurdish civilians as well as SDF fighters were pushed out of areas seized in the offensive, although some of the displaced have now begun to return.
    — Hogir al Abdo, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The International Crisis Group estimates that some 5,000 foreign fighters remain under arms inside state forces.
    — Jason M. Blazakis, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of fighters
Noun
  • In mid-August, state troopers returned to sweep an encampment once again under Operation SAFE.
    — Jake Ramsey, Oklahoma Watch, 30 Aug. 2026
  • And state troopers had booted people off state land weeks earlier.
    — Maddy Keyes, The Frontier, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of troopers
Noun
  • Protective, almost — which makes sense, as its stunning chandeliers are designed to look like the shields and spears of African Masai warriors.
    — Amy Drew Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Aug. 2026
  • In ancient legend, 300 Spartan warriors held the narrow pass at Thermopylae against a vast, overwhelming force, relying on a critical bottleneck to offset impossible odds.
    — Siddharth Misra, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of warriors

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combatants
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Cite this Entry

“Combatants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combatants. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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