# militant
## English
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmɪlɪtənt/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)

### Adjective

militant (comparative more militant, superlative most militant)
* Fighting or disposed to fight; belligerent, warlike. [from 15th c.]
** 2012, Christopher Clark, The Sleepwalkers, Penguin, published 2013, page 394:The upper tiers of the foreign ministry were quick to embrace a militant policy.
** 2024 July 5, Reuters, “Militant group blamed for 2002 Bali bombings to be disbanded, say senior leaders”, in CNN‎:Senior members of Jemaah Islamiyah, the Southeast Asian militant network blamed for the deadly Bali bombings, have announced they are disbanding the group, according to a report by a Jakarta-based think tank on Thursday.
* Aggressively supporting of a political or social cause; adamant, combative. [from 17th c.]

#### Synonyms

* warrish

#### Translations
### Noun

militant (plural militants)
* (obsolete) A soldier, a combatant. [17th–19th c.]
* An entrenched or aggressive adherent to a particular cause, now especially a member of a particular ideological faction. [from 19th c.]
** 1976 December 11, Thom Willenbecher, quoting Jean O'Leary, “Women's Caucus Quits Gay Academic Union”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 24, page 1:[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.
** 2008 February 19, John F. Burns, “Britain: Life Sentence in Beheading Plot”, in The New York Times‎:Described by witnesses as a keen cricketer and pubgoer until contacts with Islamic militants radicalized him on a trip to Pakistan, he was ordered to serve at least 14 years for the plot, and for supplying militants in Afghanistan with money and equipment.
** 2008, Militants in Pakistan release 250 schoolchildren after taking them hostage, Wikinews:Officials in Pakistan have confirmed that at least 250 schoolchildren between 12 and 18 years old and several teachers were taken hostage by at least seven militants inside a high school in Domail.
* (specifically, communism) someone who supports the Trotskyist political view expressed in the newspaper Militant. [from 20th c.]

#### Derived terms

* Militant Tendency
* ultramilitant

#### Related terms

* militance
* military
* militia

#### Translations
## Catalan
### Adjective

militant m or f (masculine and feminine plural militants)
* a militant

### Verb

militant
* gerund of militar

### Further reading

* “militant” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “militant”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
* “militant” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
* “militant” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

## Dutch
### Etymology

Borrowed from French militant.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˌmi.liˈtɑnt/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: mi‧li‧tant
* Rhymes: -ɑnt

### Adjective

militant (comparative militanter, superlative militantst)
* militant (belligerent, tending to violence, defensive)

#### Related terms

* militair
* militie

### Noun

militant m (plural militanten)
* a militant, combatant
* a devoted supporter, activist

#### Derived terms

* partijmilitant
* vakbondsmilitant

## French
### Etymology

From militer.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /mi.li.tɑ̃/
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

militant (feminine militante, masculine plural militants, feminine plural militantes)
* militant

### Noun

militant m (plural militants)
* an activist, campaigner
    Synonyms: partisan, supporter, supporteur

#### Usage notes

* Unlike in English, the French noun militant can mean any activist or supporter and does not connote an aggressive approach.

### Participle

militant
* present participle of militer

### Further reading

* “militant”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

### Anagrams

* limitant

## German
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin mīlitāns.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /miliˈtant/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ant

### Adjective

militant (strong nominative masculine singular militanter, comparative militanter, superlative am militantesten)
* militant

#### Declension
## Latin
### Verb

mīlitant
* third-person plural present active indicative of mīlitō

## Occitan
### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

militant m (feminine singular militanta, masculine plural militants, feminine plural militantas)
* militant

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French militant.

### Adjective

militant m or n (feminine singular militantă, masculine plural militanți, feminine and neuter plural militante)
* activist

#### Declension
## Swedish
### Adjective

militant (comparative militantare, superlative militantast)
* militant (belligerent)
* militant (combative)

#### Declension

$^1$ The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative. $^2$ Dated or archaic. $^3$ Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

### References

* militant in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* militant in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
* militant in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)