Militant

//ˈmɪlɪtənt// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A soldier, a combatant. obsolete
  2. 2
    a militant reformer wordnet
  3. 3
    An entrenched or aggressive adherent to a particular cause, now especially a member of a particular ideological faction.

    "[Jim Owles] lamented the declining influence of militant organizations and tactics, stating that militants "help keep the rest of us honest," and prevent moderates from selling out."

  4. 4
    someone who supports the Trotskyist political view expressed in the newspaper Militant. specifically
Adjective
  1. 1
    Fighting or disposed to fight; belligerent, warlike.

    "The upper tiers of the foreign ministry were quick to embrace a militant policy."

  2. 2
    Aggressively supporting of an idea, group, political or social cause, etc.; adamant, combative.

    "The physiological state is not itself militant against erotic expression."

Adjective
  1. 1
    showing a fighting disposition wordnet
  2. 2
    engaged in war wordnet
  3. 3
    disposed to warfare or hard-line policies wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
hawkishactiveactivistactivistactivisticaggressive

Example

More examples

"The man was said to be part of a rogue militant group."

Etymology

From Middle French militant, from Latin mīlitāns, present participle of mīlitāre (“to serve as a soldier”).

Related phrases

Militant Tendency

More for "militant"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.